Stranger Things
by Elita1Bashers
Summary: A strange energy signature leads the Decepticons to a rather... tempting discovery. The four femmes, however, are far less than compliant. Pairings will be given in Chapter 4. Chapter 7 for all you 'Screamer fans...
1. Desert Wanderings

**Erm... My first fic! Please be nice ^.^ Constructive criticism does not constitute as being mean. Feel free to share :P**

**This fic is dedicated to MarySueDevourer, who dragged this fic from the shitter and turned into something so much better.**

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><p>Starscream was having a good enough day <em>without<em> Soundwave deciding to ruin it for him. As it was, it seemed the Communications Officer was incapable of leaving him alone, and this time had approached the Second-in-Command regarding a strange and out-of-place energy signature he had picked up. Why he couldn't just go to Megatron directly was beyond Starscream, but he couldn't exactly say that to his faceplate. If he did, Starscream might end up being out of the loop on things, which would be rather... unfortunate.

So, Starscream had sent out that idiot Knock Out to go and investigate, deciding the death of the medic wouldn't be that big a deal... he was more often than not a pain in the backside than of any real use, and the Air Commander felt no need to ensure his safety. Besides, whose safety really mattered beyond the safety of Starscream? No one's. That's who. He would lose not sleep tonight.

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><p>Knock Out let out a growl, stubbornly wiping at a smudge of dirt, grumpily noting it would take quite a bit of buffing to get it off later. And that wasn't even <em>beginning<em> to scratch the surface of all the beauty regulations he was violating, what with the large amounts of sand that was practically _everywhere_ inside him and the numerous other patches of dirt decorating his body. It was _disgusting._ Of course it was no coincedence that Starscream had sent _him_ on such a mission, especially after his previous acts of insubordination. It seemed the Seeker severly lacked the ability, or knowledge, to let things go.

Trudging through the desert, unable to drive because last time he did that he got stuck in the dunes, Knock Out began the tedious task of searching out the Energon Signature Soundwave had detected. _If_ there was an actual Energon Signature. He wouldn't put it past Starscream to send him on a false mission and then play all innocent afterwards. Stupid slagger.

And why wasn't Breakdown with him? It seemed awfully like Starscream had been giving Knock Out's partner a break as of late, and had instead focussed all his unwanted attention onto the Decepticon Medic. What had Knock Out's _apprentice_ done that put him in Starscream's good books? Whatever it was, if getting out of icky missions such as this was what it got him, then Knock Out wanted a peice of it too. His paintjob was practically _ruined. _How could anyone want to walk around looking this disgusting? It was embarrassing. Degrading, even.

Luckily- or not- for Knock Out, it wasn't too much later until he found what was causing such a strange reading on the energy readers... in the most unfortunate of ways. He had finally pinpointed where it was originating from, only to be met with an endless field of sand. Scowling, he'd stormed across, only for the sand beneath his pedes to abruptly give way.

"Fragger-!" he snarled, barely getting the chance to curse Starscream's name before his pedes slammed against a solid surface.

His joints buckled from the impact, sending him on to his hands and knees and effectively faceplanting himself into a cold, metallic surface. His optics, which he had unintentionally closed, onlined again, meeting a rather strange and out-of-place sight. Scrabbling to his feet, Knock Out surveyed the area, noting with some satisfaction that the falling sand had caused a chain reaction, causing a good part of his "discovery" to be uncovered.

It was a ship, he quickly came to realise. Not a particularly large one, but it wasn't small, either. A servo ran over the metallic surface, brushing away some stray lumps of gritty sand as he did so, and another realisation dawned on him.

**_"Knock Out to base," _**he said over the comm. link, a sinister grin on his faceplate, **_"You might want to bring the ship around."_**

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><p><strong>Not what I would call long, but hopefully the others will be greater in length. RnR!<strong>


	2. Into The Nursery

**Thank you to my two beloved reviewers! You guys are the shizz :P I would hug ya, but I reckon it's too early for that, and that might be a bit creepy... O.o Anyway, kudos and cybercookies for you!**

_**missindependent93: **Thanks for your Review! You should feel proud, Miss. First Reviewer ;)_

**_RiseUpToTheChallenge: _**_Thanks! That's really good to hear so far! Hope you enjoy this chapter, and thanks a lot for reviewing!_

**This chapter is dedicated to you guys and to MarySueDevourer, who waded through a sea of bad grammar, fought her way through hoardes of shameful spelling, and eventually emerged with this beauty. He. He. He. ;) This takes place in the past, sorta like a flashback, except nobody's really experiencing it. It's sorta like an insight into each of their pasts, and every second or every other chapter will probably contain one.**

**Lets see if I can keep this up:**

**People Who Added This Story to Story Alert:**_** missindependent93; Ty Floyd; Autobot NightFury.**_

**People Who Favourited This Story:**_** thundercracker76; Decepticon Chick; Autobot NightFury.**_

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><p><em>The young mech hurried down the streets of his home city, blue optics bright and anxious to meet his destination. His spark was pulsing wildly in his chestplate, warring within itself as it battled his feelings of apprehension and nervousness. Would she miss him? Would she be happy to see him? Primus, how much would she have grown and <strong>changed<strong> in his absence? It seemed only yesterday he'd been able to safely cradle her in her arms, her own azure optics wide and curious, a sea of innocent interest in the growing world around her._

_Turning sharply around a corner, he reminisced that he hoped she hadn't changed **too** much. It was the young and naive femme he'd fallen in love with, not something... different, whatever "different" could be translated as. Last he'd seen her (Primus, how long age was **that?) **she'd still been very much the same, except she'd been more capable of forming words and had been more apprehensive of the stranger he was. In the short time he'd remained there, he'd been quite quick to rectify her unfamiliarity with him, and had been one of the best times in his life. Would she remember him this time? Would his messages, which he dearly hoped had been accepted and read to her, left any imprint on her processor?_

_His hurried steps slowed as he neared the building she was staying within, each one filled with more hesitance that the last, until he eventually slowed to a stop. The Nursery. A familiar place, as he'd lived there for a short time after the death of his parents. Not as long as her, of course. She'd spent her entire life there, with nothing but occasional visits from him for her to look forward to. The Nursery was in no way a bad place, but in his short time there he had to admit it was nothing compared to life within a real family._

_Venting a deep breath, he took the last few steps up to the door, raising his hand and knocking on the door, attempting to wipe away any remainders of his doubt or fear. He was the mature one here. He was the one expected to put his big boy pants on and act like life was amazing, even if it was anything but. He needed to be strong. He needed to be a leader and a figure of authority, one she could rely and depend upon. Anything less could potentially be upsetting to her young mind._

_The door was opened with a welcoming hiss, and he was ushered inside before he could barely get the chance to gain his bearings. A rather large yet welcoming femme stood before him, wiping her hands on her sides where some Energon had gathered and looking rather weary, yet happy all the same. The head boss around the place, Moondust, had worked the Nursery for centuries, and was a figure of love and warmth. She held a maternal air about her that youngsters instantly warmed to, and even the visiting mech couldn't help but feel awed and effected, as he had once been in his short time there. Old habits died hard, it seemed._

_Moondust wasted no time in pulling her old charge into a welcoming hug, beaming happily, and he wasted no time in returning it._

_"It's been a while," she smiled, pulling away from him and running her optics over him critically, "And I see you've learnt some lessons in hygeine whilst you've been gone... perhaps Iacon is useful for something afterall." She accompanied the words with a teasing wink, before stepping back to get a better look at him, hands flying up to her mouth in an exclamation of surprise. "My, how you've grown!"_

_The mech couldn't help but flush in pride, fiddling with his hands self-conciously and trying to hide his pleased smile. Though he didn't want to boast about it, he **had** grown, and had been measuring himself on a daily basis just to assure himself of this. He'd gone from being one of the smallest in the Nursery, to one of the biggest in his caste._

_"Iacon is useful for many things, ma'am. Perhaps you should pay it a visit sometime," he said, trying to keep his voice and tone as polite as possible._

_Moondust gave a soft chuckle, shaking her head in amusement and turning away. "Oh, no. We've been through this before, young mech; I am no ma'am. 'Ma'am' was my grandmother. And as much as I would love to take you up on that offer, you know I cannot. I have my duty here, and you there." She gave him another smile over her shoulder, before leading the way to the lift, gesturing for him to follow. "Come. She's up here."_

_He dutifully followed, zigzagging his way through the strangely organized lower level of the building. It was rather amusing, considering some of the upper levels could be utter chaos above, whereas down below it was serene and peaceful. Out of the corner of his optics he noticed a strange mech slinking through the place, but he soon turned a corner and the mech was out of sight, effectively wiping any thoughts towards him away completely. Out of sight out of mind, as they say. _

_Stepping in to the lift after the femme, the clear doors slid shut behind him. Moondust tapped a few buttons down on the pad supplied, and they began their smooth ascent up to one of the higher levels. For a few moments their only view was of a dark tube, before the lift reached higher levels still, and the dark tube fell away to reveal the magnificent city they were in. The mech had to stifle his gasp as always, the view having never failed to mesmerise him- not as a youngling, and definitely not now. Cybertron was, truly, a magnificent place afterall, and it's cities were not free of it's captivating beauty._

_All too soon the lift slid to a halt, the doors sliding open with a ping and the pair climbing out. The hallways seemed strangely quiet as they wandered down, with nothing but the echoing of their pedes hitting the ground to fill the comfortable silence that had fallen between them, the mech looking around and trying to take it all in. He rarely got to come here, and even when he did the simple effort that had gone in to the place was absolutely overwhelming, almost too overwhelming to put into words. He was almost too absorbed in the high arches and brightly decorated walls to realise Moondust had stopped walking, and consequently nearly bumped into her. If she was aware of it, she didn't show it, and instead typed another code into the door she'd stopped outside. Stepping in behind her, the mech realised the walls must've been soundproofed, because it was a far cry from silent in **here.**_

_Younglings tore around the place, screaming and yelling excitedly, expertly evading the grasp of their supervisors. As he was led through the mounting chaos, he couldn't help but chuckle as he saw one ducking in between the legs of a caregiver, the elder's servos barely skimming the surface of the little ones armour. Moondust stopped in the middle of the room, azure optics scanning the place, an entertained look on her face at her charges' antics. Regardless, she discared the look quickly, and replaced it with a more authoritive and commanding one._

_"All right, all right. Calm down, littlies. If you go nicely with your supervisors, then Mama Moondust might just read you a story before naptime."_

_There was a resounding cheer at this, and it was almost like a tidal wave of little Transformers charging for the doors. The mech couldn't help but reflect on how much he'd despised it when Moondust had called herself "mama" at first, particularly when he was young. He had not liked the thought of anyone replacing his mother, and he'd felt like Moondust had been trying to do just that. Nowadays, however, he understood better, and did not mind so much. The term was, afterall, generally used because most of the occupants in the Nursery had never experienced the love or care of real mothers themselves; if anything, Moondust **was** their mother, and by refering to herself as such a thing made it a lot easier on them._

_As the crowd of younglings pushed past him, Moondust calling to a couple of them as they did so, he could not help but scan the large amounts of little bodies streaming past him for **her. **Just as he was beginning to give up- how would he ever find her in such chaos?- Moondust fished out a little form and pulled her out of the many bodies jostling their way out the door. The mech watched as Moondust said a few words to her, the surrounding noise being too loud for him to properly hear, but by the brightening of her optics he figured he knew exactly what was said. The youngling's optics franctically scanned the room, trying to see over the heads of her peers, before they landed on the visiting mech. She let out an excited squeak, pushing her way through the few remaining younglings, making her way towards him._

_He almost tried to tell her to stay, afraid that she would become lost amongst the crowd and his chance to talk to her would slip away just like that. He soon realised his mistake, however, in doubting the determination of younglings, and it didn't take too much shoving before she stood before him, proud and excited. He could not help but feel relieved at the sight of her, a grin he'd been trying to restrain since laying his optics on her breaking out, kneeling down to her height._

She remembered, _he absently thought to himself, mightily relieved._

_"Brother!" she squealed excitedly, flinging herself into his waiting arms, burying her faceplate in his neck. "Brother! You're here!"_

_The mech let out a rumble of amusement, allowing himself a brief moment to merely lose himself in the happiness of the moment, holding the femme tightly to himself and never wanting to let go. Over her tiny shoulder he saw Moondust, who nodded to him before leaving, off to give the other ones their promised story. He was more than thankful for the privacy._

_The femme giggled, pushing herself off her brother only to grab his hand and drag him to another part of the room. "I'm so happy you're here! I **told** them! I told Skyflame, and Soundwave, and Sonic... I told them all that you'd come again! I don't think they believed me..."_

_The mech zoned out slightly, content with merely smiling and nodding as he listened to the continued excited blabbering of his younger sister. Primus, it was good to just hear her voice again, even if he did have no idea as to who half the Transformers she was talking about were. He found himself being forced into a seat that was too small for him, at a table that was too small for him, with the little femme taken the chair opposite him. The mech didn't mind so much- just being with her was a blessing all on it's own._

_"I thought you'd never come!" she admitted, gushing, "All the older Transformers said you were so busy with your job. I made sure they read me all your messages!"_

_The mech's smile broadened, pleased to know that she had been receiving them. He made a note to thank Moondust for that later._

_"What about you?" the little femme insisted, leaning forward with a concerned frown. "You're not saying much."_

_"I'm listening to you," he replied, unable to help the smile that seemed to be permenantely fixated on his faceplate. "And besides, what could I possibly have to say that could be of any interest to you? I just go to boring work..." His tone was somewhat teasing as he said the words, but decided not to add he actually kinda enjoyed it. For some it would not seem a preferable job at all, and he didn't bother boring her with the infinite amounts of knowledge he had collected during his time there._

_"I can't wait to go to work!" she exclaimed, leaning forward even more, the frown nothing if not forgotten. "Soundwave and Sonic are going to get a job **way** before me obviously, but me, Skyflame and Nightfall are all hoping to get one at the same time! I hope we get something good..."_

_"Whatever you get, I'm sure you'll be amazing at it. Moondust told me you're quite the intelligent one."_

_The femme flushed, modestly averting her gaze and trying to hide her faceplate. The mech couldn't help but chuckle softly at the reaction, somewhat reminded of not only himself, but also his own mother. Primus, the young femme had no idea how much she looked like her._

_"Very kind, too. I hear you're rather helpful around the place."_

_Her blush deepened even further, peeking up at him shyly, although there was no doubt a look of pride bestowed upon her faceplate also. It warmed the mech to his very spark to see such a look upon her, and realised that, as much as she had grown, she was still the innocent sweetspark he'd left behind those many, many years ago. It hadn't been by choice, of course. The High Council had merely been more interested in him getting the work than spending needless amounts of time in a Nursery when he could be furthering the greatness the was Cybertron._

_"I was only trying to be like you," she muttered softly, almost too softly for the mech to hear. He shot her a pleasantly surprised look, before that smile graced his lips again and he reached out to take her hand. He was flattered, more than flattered even, and was glad to see that despite his lack of presence in her life, she still looked up to and clearly loved him. Absence seemed to only made the spark grow fonder._

_"Thank you," he said, optics glittering, and leaned forward to give her a kiss on the forehead._

_She smiled back up at him, seeming to gain her confidence back, and sat up a little straighter in her seat. Her smaller hand squeezed his larger one, and she nervously fidgeted with the digits on her other hand._

_"Can you... Can you tell me what mum and dad were like?"_

_He frowned slightly, but supposed he should've expected as much, or at least have seen it coming. Moondust had warned him a while ago that there was a possibility she might become curious about such a thing and, though it was not her place to dictate what he did with his life, she would suggest that he should probably prepare himself to answer any questions she had. His brief pause, however, seemed to have given her the wrong impression, and she hurriedly tried to make up for her mistake._

_"I mean, you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I just thought that-"_

_"No. No, it's ok. I'll tell you." He paused, taking a moment to collect himself, before forcing himself to continue. "Mum looked a lot like you, you know. Exact image, even. You seem to look more like her every time I see you."_

_"Really?" she asked, seeming to perk up almost immediately._

_The mech nodded, optics narrowing in amusement at her reaction. She let out a happy purr, practically vaulting herself up on to the table and wrapping her arms around his neck for the second time that day. He let out another soft chuckle, doing the best to return the action, feeling rather humbled by the large effects his little sister seemed to be having on his very spark._

_"Promise me you'll stay for a while this time, Orion. I miss you so much when you go," she insisted, not letting him go._

_"Of course," he replied, "I miss you too."_

_"And promise me you'll come back. Don't... Don't leave me hear alone, forever. I don't want to be alone. Don't leave me like mama and dada did..."_

_Orion Pax hesitated this time, not entirely agreeing with the implication that their parents had abandoned them, but decided to let it go. She was young, and knew no better. He'd probably feel much the same if he were her._

_"Never, Snowfrost. I swear on my very spark, I will never leave you..."_

_And he meant every word._

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><p><strong>Hope ya enjoyed! RnR!<strong>


	3. Lost and Found

**Another chapter has made it! Whoop whoop! It's a miracle, no? I can't believe it's held my attention for this long. Also, a new story might be coming out soon as a collaboration with MarySueDevourer and JazzylovesTransformers. A Transformers one, too, of course ;) So if you're interested in that, ya know where to look.**

_**missindependent93: **Awww... thanks! I'm glad you like the alterations between past and present, and I hope it doesn't get too annoying! :) Thanks for you second review._

**_RiseUpToTheChallenge: _**_I'm glad you think that way. Unfortunately, "me," "updating," and "soon" don't really fit well together in the same sentence :P But I hope I didn't keep you waiting for too long! Thanks for another review ^.^_

**_DamonBamon: _**_Well, yes, ONE of their brothers :D I feel evil. Hope you enjoyed the third chapter, and your review was much appreciated! Thanks for that._

**BACK TO THE FUTURE! Hehehe. Actually, back to the present, but psh. Who's gonna know? ;) Thank you again to my hug-worthy reviewers! I don't know where I'd find my inspiration to write without you . Enjoy the next chapter, which was brought to you with help from MarySueDevourer AND JazzylovesTransformers this time, who assisted in getting me past my tiny writer's block. Don't cha hate those? **

**Look! I remembered:**

**All People Who Added This Story to Story Alert:**_** missindependent93; Ty Floyd; Autobot NightFury.**_

**All People Who Favourited This Story:**_** thundercracker76; Decepticon Chick; Autobot NightFury.**_

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><p>Megatron stalked down the halls of the Nemesis, pedes creating a loud and rather obnoxious <em>clang<em> as they stamped down the hallways. Drones on all sides quickly scattered out of his way as they recognized the stormy experssion on his faceplate, careful to keep their heads down and eyes cast away. Megatron rarely left his control room, and when he did it was a well-known custom that it could not be good. For this reason, everybody avoided the tyrant like the plague, if they didn't already. Nobody bothered wondering what had upset him this time. With his spark infused with Dark Energon, Megatron had become nothing short of a tempermental jackass.

Megatron himself was wondering exactly what had been so important that his _beloved_ Second-in-Command had to rouse him at such an ungodly hour. All that he could gather from Starscream's over-excited and insistent blabbering had been something about Knock Out going on a mission and discovering an object of importance. The details, apparently, were too important to be relayed over a simple report, and had to be administered faceplate-to-faceplate. Based on Megatron's prior experience with his poor-performing Air Commander, he somewhat doubted this.

So he expected it to be the usual long and unmotivated, if not uneventful, walk down the twisting and gloomy halls of his beloved Nemesis. He had expected there to be nothing to keep him company except particularly pleasing and creative ways of punishing his subordinates should they have woken him up for something unimportant. However, he had been about halfway to his destination when he encountered Knock Out walking at a brisk pace in the opposite direction, a look of relief on his face as he spied the Decepticon Supreme Commander. Megatron paused, watching the medic expectantly. Based on the red mech's reaction, Megatron had been just the Decepticon Knock Out had been looking for, though Megatron was not going to go running to him.

"Lord Megatron, we have an-"

"Yes, Starscream told me," Megatron snapped, tone belying his impatience as he pushed past his subordinate, continuing on his way down the hall.

Knock Out trailed after him close behind, flinching as his leader stormed past him and keeping a careful distance should he feel the need to lash out at somebody. It was obvious Megatron was not in a mood to talk or be talked to, and felt that he should just get on with it. Megatron was not interested in small talk today, and the imposing mech was not someone to be messed with, regardless of his mood. Knock Out figured it would be best to get it over and done with with minimal damage to his paintjob.

"Whilst scouting the desert for an energy signature detected by Soundwave, I came across an Autobot vessel." Knock Out paused here, waiting for some response from his leader to indicate that he was interested and listening. Knock Out, afterall, did not want to test his limits. Megatron was certainly not in a mood to listen to boring amounts of information he couldn't care less about. Knock Out, however, was feeling confident that what he had to say most certainly _would_ interest his leader, it was simply getting to tell him that might prove difficult.

_"And?" _Megatron snarled, shooting him an annoyed look over his shoulder, a clear indication to hurry up and spit it out.

"It was the _Xanthium," _Knock Out said, shooting Megatron a sly look.

Megatron actually stopped in his tracks at that, red optics glancing back at Knock Out again, taking a moment to let the information sink in. Knock Out stopped also, maintaining his careful distance, especially since the look on Megatron's face was perfectly unreadable. Despite his assurance that Megatron would be pleased with this, Primus knew what was going on in that twisted processor of his. He would not put it past Megatron to be more pissed than entertained by the news. It was merely a matter of caution that would ensure his escape from this ordeal relatively unscathed.

"And the contents?" Megatron finally asked, optics narrowed in thought, though there was no missing the glint that had entered the optics of the Decepticon leader.

"Alive with no serious injuries, but in stasis lock. One of them has recently awoken."

A predatory grin spread out over Megatron's faceplate, before he continued his walk to the Med. Bay, but now seemingly with an entirely new attitude. Just quietly, Knock Out felt sorry for the occupants of the ship already.

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><p>Unfortunately, Megatron heard their insufferable voices before he even came close to seeing them.<p>

**_"Look dude, your face is dangerous, but that doesn't make it illegal either."_**

**_"Says the femme with half her faceplate busted in."_**

**_"At least mine is actually tolerable, and doesn't look like it's been through the shredder. What happened to you, anyway? Get embedded in the wall or something?"_**

**_"THAT IS OF NO BUSINESS OF YOURS FEMME-"_**

The Med. Bay doors slid open with a hiss, revealing the bulky form of the Decepticon leader, as well as that of Knock Out who was still tagging along behind him. Luckily, the sound of opening doors silenced the bickering 'bots who were having a go at one another in Cybertronian, both the femme and Starscream looking up to identify the newcomers. Megatron's optics raked over what now seemed to be a rather crowded Med. Bay, what with Starscream still injured from Megatron's triumphant return as well as what appeared to be four others to keep him company... one of which was already awake. She scowled as she recognized Megatron, letting out an annoyed growl and pulling at her restraints, letting out a string of colourful insults aimed at him in their native language.

_**"You insufferable pile of a slagheap, slagging fragger...!"**_

Megatron ignored her in favour of turning his attention to the other femmes, moving out of the doorway so that Knock Out could slip inside after him. They were each laid upon a berth each, restrained in much the same manner as their companion was, with their hands and legs bound along with a restraint across their chests and waists. The smallest he identified as the one in the far right corner, with a royal blue paintjob and gold trimming, the deplorable Autobot insignia proudly branded onto her chest. She looked like the sort that was relatively defenceless, and easily won over in battle through sheer brute strength. However, Megatron was also no fool. When trained correctly, small 'bots like her could prove agile and extremely hard to attack. Many fights in the Pits had honed Megatron's processor well to picking out the strengths and weaknesses of potential opponents.

To the small femme's right was a femme that reminded Megatron slightly of his Communications Officer, Soundwave. Like him, she was mainly black, but with hints of sky blue as opposed to his darker purple. Also unlike Soundwave, she had no mask to cover her face, which was slightly tilted to the side as it rested upon the repair berth. Wings adorned her back to mark her as one with flier programming, and she even had the sharp talons many of the Decepticons possessed, causing Megatron to come to the conclusion that she had some kind of Decepticon lineage. Any notion to go easy on her because of this was promptly ruined, however, by the glaringly obvious Autobot symbol that sat upon her left shoulder.

Further on, skipping over Starscream, was the awoken femme. As mentioned by Starscream, one side of her faceplate was injured, but it appeared to be nothing more than a mere gash that looked as if it were well on the repair, not doubt due to the handy work of Knock Out. Her colour scheme was bright emerald green, complimented by the occasional streaks of saphire blue. Megatron could not shake the feeling that she reminded him of somebot, though he could no place exactly who that could be. As furious as she looked, there was no doubting the flicker of fear in her optics, and Megatron concluded it was this intimidation that caused the negative reaction. It wasn't an uncommon trait to be found in femmes, especially since they'd been the less dominant species on Cybertron, and there were noticably less of them than they were of mechs. If anything, their bad attitude when threatened was their own form of intimidation: by trying to make themselves look bigger through angry words and threats, they were thought to be less likely to be taken advantage of. Having lived down in the Pits of Kaon, it was a concept Megatron was well acquainted with.

Lastly was a sky blue and purple femme, with an elegant and slim build that probably wouldn't be good for much that was war-related, at least where fist-fighting was concerned. In fact, if anything, she was picture of Transformers before the war: unhardened. Or so she appeared whilst in recharge, at least. But, in saying that, Megatron was also not enough of a fool to underestimate her- slender legs like hers could pack a lot of strength in them. Anybody that had gone this long in the war, afterall, and had lived to tell the tale didn't just make it through pure luck. Not to mention the various places she could disguise weapons.

"I trust you disarmed them," Megatron said coolly, gaze returning to Knock Out.

"Of course, Lord Megatron."

"Very well. Call in Soundwave to scan their processors, and then take them to the brig. Comm. me if anything of interest shows up."

Not waiting around to answer the femme who was still spitting out Cybertronian insults at him, Megatron gave her a dark grin, before turning to walk out the door. He was already awake now and, seeing no point in trying to settle back into recharge, settled on a trip for the rec room. Something told him a cube of Energon was going to be needed if he was to get through what he felt was going to be a rather... interesting cycle. A very interesting cycle indeed. Because there was not a single Decepticon on board the _Nemesis_ who did not know what- or, rather, who- the _Harbringer_ had been carrying before it's signal had been lost to the stars. The news had, understandably, left Megatron in a rather cheery mood... or his definition of cheery, anyway.

Perhaps a reward was in order.

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><p><strong>Yes, yes. A little Dark of the Moon reference there in regards to the ship's name. Honestly, I'm hopeless with stuff like that. God I despise the ending *Prods ending* Grarr... I'll just pretend it doesn't exist. RnR!<strong>


	4. Unspoken

**As promised, the pairings for this chapter: _  
>MegatronxOC, SoundwavexOC, StarscreamxOC, Knock OutxOC.<em>**

**Yeah... there were four femmes for a reason ;) Originally, we were gonna have five and kill one off, but I couldn't be bothered :P Yeah, I'm lazy. Double yeah, it's a very bad habit. But honestly, I didn't think the drama and emotional stress was at all worth it.**

_**missindependent93: **No problem! I love your reviews! -Keep this one._

**Heh. One review for the last chapter. I wonder if that's hinting something...?**

**The usual:**

**All People Who Added This Story to Story Alert:**_** missindependent93; Ty Floyd; Autobot NightFury, FillyKat.**_

**All People Who Favourited This Story:**_** thundercracker76; Decepticon Chick; Autobot NightFury; DamonBamon, FillyKat.**_

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><p><em>"She's not <strong>normal!"<strong>_

_"Darling... she's our daughter..."_

_"I don't **care! **I will NOT have a defective _glitch_ ruining the reputation of this family! And what of the boy? Doesn't he have a vocaliser? I though **she** was the mute one, not him!"_

_"He does, he's just... quiet..."_

_"Quiet? There is a line between quiet, antisocial, and just downright abnormal! What will people think of me in the streets? My friends already snigger at me behind my back, making remarks about those little... those little DEFECTS!"_

_The small femme whimpered at the sound of her parents' arguing, shrinking back into the armour of her twin, willing the ground to open up and swallow her. Her mother had consumed too much Energon again, which tended to make her somewhat more truthful and... open about her inner thoughts. As usual, their father was left trying to clean up the mess, with the two kids curled up on their shared berth and trying to ignore the cruel words spurting forth from their mother's mouth. Behind the femme, her twin brother shook in barely supressed rage, clearly angered by her thoughts on him and his sister._

_It was not the first time it had happened, but it didn't make it any better. Their mother's drunken rages had becoming increasingly frequent, each one seeming to be worse than the last one, each one dishing out more hateful and spiteful thoughts towards her children. The pair did not know whether or not their mother knew if they could hear her but, just quietly, the brother did not think she'd care anyway. Not when she was like this. She was unreasonable enough when she was sober, but when she got inebriated it was like a fragging bombshell had gone off or something. Consequently, he had come to hate the despised figure that dared to call herself his "mother," and his endless frustration at having to constantly be there every night to calm his twin sister was really beginning to chip at his nerves._

**_Please... she doesn't mean it... it's me she's angry at, _**_the femme tried to reason, reaching out to her brother over their shared bond, trying to calm him. **I'm the problem, not you.**_

_It was true, or so the femme thought at least. If she hadn't been born... if she didn't have such a dishonourable defect in her systems... then her mother wouldn't be so embarrassed around her friends all the time. There were times when she was almost too ashamed to even claim the femme as her child, and often went about in public pretending as if she did not know the little femme and mech that were trailing along behind her. How could it be her mother's fault? She wasn't the one with the glitch. It was the femme... it was _always_ the femme... and she was dragging her twin brother down with her. It was times like these that she wondered if it'd be easier on everyone if she just hadn't existed in the first place._

_"It's neither of us," he growled feircely, his grip on her waist tightening slightly with his words, "It's **her** that's the problem. If anybody's ruining this family, it's her and her drunken rages. She calls herself civilised..."_

**_Please don't get angry, _**_she pleaded, servos coming to rest over his and giving them a reassuring squeeze, **Please. You know what it does to me through the bond...**_

_His anger wavered for a second, momentarily overcome by his responding guilt to her words, before making a genuine effort to reign in his boiling rage. It was still there- simmering on the surface, ready to explode given a moment's notice- but it was an improvement at least. She allowed her relief, appreciation and, most importantly, her love for him to flow through the bond and into him, noticably relaxing in his hold, and nuzzling him affectionately. She didn't know where she'd be if she didn't have her twin brother at her side. Being a mute, a defective glitch as her mother rightfully called her, was not an easy life for anyone. She was just lucky she had him there to voice her thoughts and feelings when she could not._

_"You're not defective," he told her firmly, if not a touch angrily, having obviously been monitoring her thoughts. "Don't listen to that self-centred glitch. She can't tell her left servo from her right."_

_As much as the small femme wanted to disagree with him, to reprimand him for insulting their mother in such a way, she knew he would not listen. Her brother despised both their parents with a passion, and nothing she could say could ever convince him otherwise. It was better just to let it go, mainly due to her own cowardice, her own fear of openly admitting what she had believed for a long time now: that her mother was correct, and she really was nothing but a shameful burden on the entire family. Yet she was too much of a little glitchmouse to do anything about it, to leave her family and let them continue their lives on their own without her dirtying their reputation._

_By this time, their parents bickering had come to what seemed to be a ceasefire. Just as the household was falling silent, however, and just as the twins thought that they may, perhaps, finally be able to get some recharge, they heard some things they really wish they had not..._

_"Sweetspark... don't do this."_

_"Don't try and tell me what to do! You're not the one who has to waste your time looking after them all day long! You're not the one who has had to care for them every fragging hour of every fragging day! And the shame as I'm forced to walk down the streets with such... such embarassments!"_

_"We can work this out-"_

_It was what her mother said next that made her brother snap._

**_Soundwave! _**_she called out to him in alarm, the full effects of his pure, unadulterated rage slamming into her through the bond full-force, the femme sitting up in surprise to watch as he was already off the berth, angrily punching in the code for the doors to open. Before she could say another word, he was storming down the hall, snarling as he went. **Soundwave-!** she tried again, scrambling to get off the berth and follow him, to _stop_ him-_

**_Stay there! _**_came the snarled reply through their shared bond, the sheer force fueld by his anger keeping her rooted in place, her feet dangling over the side of the berth and watching the place where he'd disappeared through the door with wide, surprised and, most importantly, frightened optics. She let out a noise of hurt that was barely detectable through the static the accompanied it as he slammed their bond shut, effectively cutting her off, leaving her sitting there with absolutely no idea of what was going on and no form of communication with the outside world. Common sense kept her from following after her brother, mainly because she'd never seen him so _angry...

_The femme remained where she was, tears pricking at her optics, having no idea what was going on downstairs or what to do with her feelings of hopelessness and apprehension. Was her brother ok down there? Their mother was more than prone to lash out with her fists should one of her children disturb during one of her... episodes... (something the young femme knew well from experience). Had she done the same to Soundwave? Primus, she hoped he was safe, but she was far too scared of the consequences from either her mother or twin to even think about going down and finding out for herself. _

_The tears were flowing freely by the time Soundwave returned to their shared quarters, the femme having curled up into a ball, quietly sobbing into her knees. She glanced up when she heard the sound of the opening door, visably relieved at the sight of her brother, but when she tried to make a move towards him his hard words stopped her in her place._

_"Don't," he snapped, tone cold and almost void of all emotion._

_She hesitated, prodding at the bond questioningly, but was only met with that blank wall that signified it was still being blocked. Soundwave walked in without another word, the doors easily sliding shut behind him, and she could only watch as he keyed the doors to lock. His back was turned to her, and it was then she realised it looked like he was... glistening, as if a fair amount of liquid was covering various parts of his body. Her spark felt like it was suddenly in her throat, and she quickly glanced away, not wanting to identify what she feared it might be. Was he hurt?_

_As stupid as she knew it was, she could not help the uneasy feeling over being locked in the same room as her brother, even though she knew he wouldn't harm her... right? Her frightened optics tracked his movements all the way towards their washroom, where he hesitated in the doorway for a second, glancing over his shoulder to look at her. She desperately searched his faceplate, looking for any indication in his sharp features as to what was happening, but found none._

_"Get some recharge," he told her, his tone noticably softer than before in an attempt to calm her fear towards him. Truthfully, he did not want to be so. He wanted to scream and shout his rage to the heavens, not have to restrain his anger simply so his twin sister wouldn't be so scared she wouldn't be able to recharge next to him. "I'll join you in a moment," he added whilst turning away, walking into the washracks, door shutting behind him._

_The femme sat there for a moment, not moving, unsure whether or not it was safe to turn her back on her brother. Despite his words, she still noticed that the bond remained closed, and it did nothing to ease her suspicions. And why was he having a shower in the middle of the night, anyway? Regardless, after a few moments of remaining in place, weariness got the better of her and she was forced to lie back down, facing towards the wall. It wasn't too much later before Soundwave joined her again on their berth, a protective arm draping around her chestplate, before settling down for recharge. The femme didn't know if she should be thankful that he had an easier time at getting to sleep than she did._

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><p><em>"...Apparently their parents were murdered in the kitchen..."<em>

_"...Authorities came in today. Said they didn't know what on Cybertron had happened..."_

_"...Poor dears, they must've been so frightened..."_

_"...Brutally murdered, they say. So much Energon coating the floor, they say some of the injuries look like they'd been afflicted even well after they were dead..."_

_"...I hope they're alright..."_

_"...It's a wonder nobody heard the attack...!"_

_"...Do you think they know?"_

_The femme did her best to block out the poorly whispering voices around her, ducking her head in an attempt to look smaller, to keep their searching optics away from her. A hand found hers, wrapping around it and squeezing reassuringly, but instead of responding to the gesture as she normally would've she couldn't help but flinch. Soundwave still had yet to open the bond, and even the simplest touches on his part had set her... quite on edge. She didn't miss the narrowed look he gave her at her response, but pretended not to notice anyway, averting her gaze to look at anything but him._

_He let out a soft growl in response, discreetly tugging her forward sharply, clearly displeased with her for the time being. She let out a squeak of protest, but was far too fearful of her twin to do anything more. Instead, she obediently followed, quietly wishing for the whole ordeal to be over and wondering where things had gone so wrong. Only last night he'd been intent on comforting her and acting as her protector, but now... now she'd never felt so seperated from her twin. He seemed to be getting increasingly violent and distant ever since he'd stormed out of their room._

_"Oh, my dears! You must be Sonic and Soundwave!"_

_The femme, Sonic, looked up in surprise to meet the kindly face of an unfamiliar femme. Soundwave betrayed no such emotion, merely giving a slight nod in response, having never been one for words. If it put off the warm-sparked femme, she did not show it, and not for a second to her welcoming smile leave her faceplate. Sonic could not help but take a liking towards the friendly face already._

_"My name's Moondust," she introduced herself, before gesturing to a couple of forms that were peeking out at the newcomers from behind her legs, "And back here is Snowfrost and Nightfall."_

_"Hi," said one of the femmes, a blue and purple one. Despite the confident tone she used, it seemed she still did not have the courage to step out from the safety of hiding behind the leg of Moondust, and instead offered them a hesitant yet friendly smile from a distance. __Sonic responded with a small, shy wave, ducking her head in embarrassment at the same time, not used to all the attention. Her mother had been fine with ignoring her and pretending like they didn't exist, so why couldn't these people just do the same? The blue and purple femme gave Moondust a curious look, her head tilting to the side questioningly, before she turned back to them. "Why don't you talk?"_

_"Snowfrost," Moondust scolded her lightly for her bluntness, giving her a disapproving look._

_"She's mute," Soundwave responded just as bluntly, his voice holding a threatening edge to it that was directed towards the younger femme, accompanying his words with a cold glare._

_"Oh," Snowfrost said simply, a slight frown adorning her faceplate as she absorbed the information. "But... she can still play, right?" she asked, directing her question more towards Moondust than Sonic._

_"Why don't you ask her?" Moondust asked, arching an optic ridge in amusement. "She may be mute but she can still hear you, Snowfrost."_

_Snowfrost blinked, her quizzical gaze turning back to Sonic, as if wondering how she'd be able to answer her question. In a rare bout of confidence, Sonic released Soundwave's hand and took a brave step forward, nodding her head once and doing her best to ignore the feeling of her brother's optics intently trained upon her back. The effect of her response on Snowfrost was pretty much instantaneous, her practically lighting up with joy, jumping out from behind Moondust and bouncing up and down on the spot excitedly._

_"Can we, Moondust?" Snowfrost pleaded, her imploring gaze turning up to the head femme. "Can me and the visitor play? Can we show her around?"_

_"She's not just a visitor, Snowfrost," the elder femme told her matter-of-factly, "She'll be staying with us for a while. Her and her brother."_

_"Really?" she practically squeaked, excited optics almost as big as that of a saucepan's. "That's so cool!"_

_Without waiting for permission, this new femme practically lunged for both of them, grabbing hold of both Soundwave's and Sonic's hands and leading them away. Sonic was rather impressed, yet also wary, of this bold movement, reasoning that if Snowfrost had any idea of what Soundwave was like with others touching him without his permission then she probably wouldn't have done such a thing. True to her thoughts, she could see Soundwave tense as he was led away by the femme, but eventually relaxed somewhat and seemed to allow it... just this once. At that same instance the wedge in their bond dropped also, and Sonic could not deny the wave of relief that washed over her at having the presence of her brother back._

_Soundwave responded to it with a slight nudge through their link, shooting her an apologetic look, and Sonic returned it with a multitude of feelings that illustrated her forgiveness... so long as he didn't do it again. Her thoughts then twisted to the enthusiastic femme towards them, sending through her amusement over the stranger's antic, Soundwave grudgingly responding with similar feelings of amusement and acceptance for their new, younger companion. Sonic couldn't help but grin, figuring that was pretty much a declaration of love coming from Soundwave. He responded with a displeased snort, making her giggle over the bond._

**_Love you too, 'Wave, _**_she teased, making him roll his optics._

**_Don't push your luck, _**_was his reply._

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><p><strong>It's late, and I've been struggling to get this chapter out for a while . Please Review!<strong>


	5. Cold Awakenings

**Pairings: _  
>MegatronxOC, SoundwavexOC, StarscreamxOC, Knock OutxOC.<em>**

_**DamonBamon: **Why yes, yes he is. ;) I thought that Soundwave seemed to be thoroughly unloved inTransformers: Prime, probably because a lot of people practically fall head-over-heels for Knock Out instead. Thanks for you Review!  
><strong>Deceptichick02: <strong>My, my, he is rather smexy, isn't he? :P Thank you for taking your time to leave a review.  
><strong>AllHailMegatron: <strong>Oh man, this is going to be a long response. In short, thanks for all the feedback! And Soundwave has his ways. :P I don't like Breakdown that much either... he said Airachnid intrigued him... ew. I don't like her. She hated on my 'Screamer. XD Thanks for the exceptionally long and informative review.  
><strong>Rob Lockster: <strong>Aw... thanks. ^.^ I don't really feel like this one is up-to-standard, but I'm always critical of my writing, so I'll leave that up to you to determine. Thanks for the review- it means a lot! :)_

****Look at them! Look at all my wonderful reviewers! ^.^ And Nooooo! MarySueDevourer wasn't here, so I had to rely on JazzylovesTransformers, only for her to get a freakin' virus on her computer :( So I had to kinda wing it on this one, sorry, guys. My apologies for any mistakes or if it's not as good as the others, as I had a major writer's block throughout the entire thing. Who knew beginning a chapter could be this damn difficult, eh? Hope it's still good and all, though.****

**The usual:**

**All People Who Added This Story to Story Alert:**_** missindependent93; Ty Floyd; Autobot NightFury, FillyKat, Rob Lockster.**_

**All People Who Favourited This Story:**_** thundercracker76; Decepticon Chick; Autobot NightFury; DamonBamon, FillyKat.**_

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><p>A slim hand brushed gently across the feminine faceplate, the owner of the servo mumbling concerned mutterings under their breath, crouched protectively over the still form of their companion with a slight frown adorning their faceplate. They knew that they shouldn't be so worried- their friend was strong, admittedly more mentally than physically, and it would take more than a mere stasis lock to bring an end to her- but could anyone really blame the worried femme? Ever since she was young, she'd spent the majority of their life trying to mend and repair the injuries of a bunch of trigger-happy Autobots who seemed to like nothing more but run themselves right into the thick of battle. Back then, they didn't just come back with a few minor scrapes and scuffs, but often with whole limbs missing. She was far too accustomed to every patient having a major injury as opposed to a minor one.<p>

**"Snowfrost,"** she called gently, tapping on said femme's chestplates, **"It's time to wake up..."**

**"5 more minutes..."** came the muttered reply, Snowfrost absently trying to roll away from the servo.

**"We don't have five more minutes,"** the other replied with a stubborn scowl, debating between shaking her awake or kicking her.

After careful consideration, she decided the latter would be much more amusing, and slowly rose to their pedes. Poor, unsuspecting Snowfrost was jolted online by a quick kick to her side, not enough to hurt, but enough to send her into survival mode and spring to her feet. She tried to whirl around to face her would-be attacker, but the swift moves and her lack of Energon did not make a good combination, and instead she landed flat on her aft at the offender's feet. The other stared at her for a few moments, as if taking a while for what had just happened to sink in, before they promptly fell over laughing. Snowfrost good-naturedly scowled at her fellow femme, muttering something under her breath about her, and rising to her pedes at a much slower pace this time. The other femme remained where she was, still trying to smother giggles, but failing most comically.

Snowfrost took her distraction as a chance to survey her surroundings, blue optics sweeping over the room (if you could call it that, to her it seemed more like a dungeon) and the small cells they had been placed in. A frown of confusion momentarily adorned her features. This wasn't their ship. In fact, looking back, she was pretty sure their ship had crash-landed on an unknown planet, and they'd all put themselves into stasis lock in the hopes of making it out alive. That explained her lack of Energon, then. They'd even sent out a distress signal to any Autobot ships who would happen to pass through the area. She glanced down at the femme on the floor, a hundred questions already swimming in her optics. Where were they? Were they rescued? Had they been put in the brig as a precaution? Was the war still on-going? Most importantly, or so she thought, was her brother still alive? How long had been? Which Autobot ship was this?

**"Where are we?"** Snowfrost asked her, deciding to voice her first question. She cringed at how static-y her voice sounded, no doubt from many years of lack of use. Oh the joys of coming out of stasis lock. When her companion didn't reply, Snowfrost glanced over her shoulder to give her a questioning look, only to notice her optics were on something else entirely and her giggling had come to an abrupt halt. **"Flashfire?"**

**"You," **a drawling voice said from somewhere within shadows of the cells, **"are on the _Nemesis, _my dear."**

Snowfrost nearly jumped 50 metres into the air out of surprise, whirling around in shock only to fall flat on her aft again. She made a mental note to stop doing that whilst she was low on Energon, and lifted her optics to face the mech that had spoken and that Flashfire was so blatantly glaring at. A mech, primarily red in colour, casually leant against the bars of another cell not too far from theirs. He had a smug look on his faceplate, and his red optics glinted with what could only be described as amusement, openly chortling at Snowfrost's co-ordination... or there lack of. She would have called rather good-looking, if it weren't for the ugly Decepticon insignia she soon realised was branded upon him. It turned out he wasn't the only one to pay them a visit, either: a tall, shady figure stepped out from behind him, their face completely covered by a blank screen. She hadn't heard the door open, and absently part of her wondered how long they'd been there. The latter part of that thought made her feel rather uncomfortable.

Flashfire hissed at the mechs angrily, sitting up from her undignified position so that she could have a better position to glare at them from, and probably because she felt rather defenceless and vulnerable being sprawled out over the ground like that. Snowfrost unsteadily climbed back to her pedes, using the bars of the cell as support, and set them with a calm and level look that she was being careful not to betray too many emotions with. She'd always been told her optics gave her away too often for the blank look to work, but that didn't stop her from trying. Particularly not in a case like this.

**"And who would you be?" **she demanded, careful to hold eye-contact with the red mech before her.

The question seemed to amuse the red mech and, instead of replying immediately, he motioned the other mech towards something behind Snowfrost. Curious, the femme glanced over her shoulder to see what it was, only for her spark to drop in it's chamber as she recognized the unconscious forms of Sonic and Skyflame in the cell behind them, who were still soundly in stasis lock. She glared at the shadowy and intimidating mech who was calmly striding towards them, as if promising a world of hurt if he so much as touched them, but if he saw her glare he didn't acknowledge it. The red mech, who was clearly of the cocky type, watched on in amusement, and his smirk seemed to broaden significantly.

**"Name's Knock Out, sweetspark," **he purred to Snowfrost in a sickening voice, the femme promptly scowling in response to his tone. He didn't seem to particularly care, instead moving his gaze and attention to the mech that had been walking towards Sonic and Skyflame's cell. "Soundwave, take the flier on the left to my quarters. The other one's going to Starscream."

Snowfrost arched an optic ridge questioningly, having not understood a word he'd just spoken. She shot Flashfire a confused look, who merely shrugged and mouthed back, 'They do that.' Before they could communicate on the problem any further, the red mech had opened up their cell and slapped a couple of stasis cuffs around Snowfrost's wrists, aiming his weapon at Flashfire at the same time in case she tried anything. He roughly shoved the cuffed and unbalanced Snowfrost out of the cell, giving the growling Flashfire an entertained look and stepping out after the struggling Snowfrost. The cell door slammed shut and locked behind him, and Knock Out and Soundwave, the latter with an unconscious Skyflame in his arms, exited the brig with their prisoners. Snowfrost made a displeased noise as Knock Out grabbed her wrist with unnecessary force and began dragging her away.

**"Where are we going?" **she asked, shooting an annoyed-looking Flashfire one final glance before the doors to the brig slid shut, obscuring her from sight.

**_"You," _**he responded, punctuating the word with a sharp tug, "**are going to Megatron."**

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><p>When the mechs returned for Flashfire, she went surprisingly quietly. The same couldn't be said for a frightened Snowfrost, who hadn't stopped putting up a fight after she found out she was being brought directly to Megatron. Knock Out was still cradling his hand from where she'd bit him, and he'd ended up ordering Breakdown to subdue the femme and take her to their leader. She'd thrashed, hissed, spat and cursed at the large mech at first, making numerous attempts to wriggle her way out of his strong grasp, but somewhere along the way she'd come to realise it was futile. Now, she hung limply in his hands, barely moving save for the slight trembling of her frame and fearful whimper as each step drew her closer to her doom.<p>

Across the base, Soundwave was having a much easier time with the unconscious Sonic. A group of drones were carefully carrying her form to Knock Out's quarters, having learnt their lesson not to carelessly drag her across the ground lest they get a disapproving look from the Communications Officer. They figured it was just because Knock Out didn't want damaged goods. Soundwave was more than happy to let them think that.

The others, Skyflame and Flashfire, were being escorted to the upper levels of the ship by a large number of drones.

By the time Knock Out and Breakdown finally reached the throne room, it wasn't soon enough. True, she'd been more... submissive once overpowered by the latter of the pair, but Knock Out wanted to hurry up and fix his mangled paintjob from where she'd dared to sink her denta into him. Who knew what kind of Autobot germs that femme had been carrying? For Breakdown, he just wanted to hurry up and return to his quarters, where he could catch up on some much-needed recharge. It wasn't fun having to fill out reports all night.

Megatron stood in his customary position, facing away from the door and observing the outside sky through the large windows of the _Nemesis. _His head turned slightly upon hearing them enter, faceplate expressionless and his red optics fixing firmly on the femme with a menacing look. Knock Out barely hid a grin as Snowfrost literally tried to sink back into Breakdown, as if the larger mech's bulk could somehow hide her. Her trembling had become a lot more noticeable by this time and she watched the tyrant with wide optics, which Knock Out ascertained would only serve to entertain a mech like Megatron. Fear was not something Megatron had ever had to worry himself with, and instilling it into his opponents was always something he regarded with amusement. Plus it never ceased to stroke his ego, having the mere mention of his name send even the most proud mechs running for the hills.

But Snowfrost was no mech, and she didn't look like much of an opponent as she was. Megatron fully turned around to face her, his chassis casting a long shadow over the ground, and fixed his glare on Knock Out. Receiving the message loud and clear, the medic bowed to Lord Megatron and left without a word for once, signalling to Breakdown as he did so. The cuffed femme was promptly dumped on the ground on her knees before Megatron; her gaze averted to the floor so that she wouldn't have to face the Decepticon leader, and listening to the sound of the retreating mechs. The doors hissed shut behind them, effectively sealing her fate.

A long silence ensued, and after a few tense moments Snowfrost dared a glance up at the fearsome mech. Those red optics were still watching her, but now there was a darkly amused grin on his faceplate; the kind that caused her systems to stall and her spark to skip a beat. Her optics hastily flicked away again, but the damage was done, and the air seemed to ring with the sound of his heavy footsteps approaching. He stopped directly in front of her, yet even then she did her best not to look at any part of him, lest it provoke an unwanted response. Megatron seemed even more amused than he was bothered by this, grin still firmly on his face and displaying his fangs.

**"Pity,**" he sneered, his grin turning into a smug smirk at the way she jumped in surprise when he spoke. **"I would've hoped you'd have as much of a fighting spirit as your brother."**

That typically struck a nerve. Snowfrost's optics narrowed angrily, though she still refused to look at him, instead opting to glare at the wall to the right of her. Even her anger was not enough to provoke her into facing up to the intimidating mech.

**"I'm not here to entertain you," **she snapped in response, her fear giving rise to a bold and foolish courage.

**"Aren't you?"**

His tone hinted towards something he knew that she did not, but Snowfrost refused to rise to the bait. She'd be dead before she ever considered playing his game. A few more moments of tense silence passed, before Megatron finally made another move. His hand cupped her chin in an almost-crushing grip, forcing her head upwards to meet his gaze and that sadistic grin of his, not missing the way she flinched either. Her optics darted away at first, but a sharp squeeze quickly fixed that, and she reluctantly focussed back on the tyrant's faceplate.

**"What do you want from us?" **

She intended for it to come out as a demand, but her voice failed her, and it came out more as a frightened squeak.

Megatron's optics glittered at that; either at the way she'd said it, her obvious innocence or the many amusing ways he could answer that question. Regardless, the look sent alarm bells ringing for the femme, but there was no way she could properly read the tyrant's expression. Not, when she thought about it, that she'd really want to- whatever went on in the private depths of his sick and twisted mind should probably stay private, if only to shield those around him from the horrors that lay within.

**"Autobots are good for only one thing," **he said smoothly, releasing her chin as he did so, much to her delight. Snowfrost's relief was short-lived, however, as he grabbed her shoulder instead and roughly hauled her to her feet. If she thought he was big when she was kneeling, she had another thing coming, as much to her dismay she realised her head could barely even clear his chest. She failed to suppress her shudder in reaction to the obvious power the mech in front of her possessed. **"For Decepticons to vent their frustrations out on. Autobot femmes, however, could be considered to have... alternative uses."**

**"And what's that?" **she dared to venture, arching an optic ridge at him.

The corners of Megatron's mouth twitched, repressing a grin, and again Snowfrost got the impression that he knew something she didn't. It wasn't an impression she liked. Fortunately (or unfortunately), she soon caught on, recognizing the glint in his optics for what it was and causing her spark rate to pick up dramatically. Dread flooded her senses anew, and she made another attempt to pull out of his grasp, only this time she put more strength and determination into it. Megatron held fast, however, and his optics seemed to narrow in growing amusement.

Her feelings of fear only doubled as he used her shoulder as a means to pull her closer, and Snowfrost's optics widened at the inevitability of what was going to come next. She began to struggle, thrashing wildly and trying to detach herself from him. The look of panic in her optics only seemed to encourage, and probably excite, Megatron even more, and he had no problems keeping hold of her and continuing to draw her nearer. As soon as she was far too close for comfort, Snowfrost's spark rate increased tenfold, along with her desperation.

**"You _wouldn't- _you can't-!"**

She brought her hands up, planting them on his chestplate and attempting to shove him off her. Megatron's mood switched in an instant at the physical contact, letting out a furious snarl and grabbing her by the throat with his free hand, lifting her up with her feet barely brushing the ground. It didn't seem to matter that her attempt to push him had absolutely no effect, only that she'd purposely displayed an act of insubordination. She let out a gasp of surprise, flailing uselessly in the air, only serving to infuriate Megatron more. His grip tightened, effectively cutting off the Energon supply to her head. Eventually she got the message as warnings began to flash in front of her vision, causing her to still, her trembling having returned in full force.

**"I don't have time for Autobot morals," **Megatron informed her coldly. **"You can struggle and protest all you wish, _femme, _but the outcome will remain the same." **And with that he released her, her legs giving way beneath her and causing her to crumple to the floor. He leant down to her height, purring in her audio, **"And now, there's no big brother to save you, Autobot. Not here. Not on _my_ ship."**

Snowfrost made a choked sound as the words hit home, her optics squeezing shut as if it would somehow protect her from the nightmare of the mech she was being confronted with. Indifferent, Megatron turned away and returned to his original position, back to observing the passing clouds outside the ship.


	6. Letters & Energon Cookies

**Pairings: _  
>MegatronxOC, SoundwavexOC, StarscreamxOC, Knock OutxOC.<em>**

_**DamonBamon: **Why thank you, to both of those comments. ;) I did try to avoid any use of the word 'Moon' in their names because it seems to be commonly used, and I have to admit Snowfrost was originally intended to be a more meek character than she turned out to be. :P But alas, since when does anything go as planned? Many thanks for the review you left!  
><strong>CandlelightCrystal: <strong>Very shameless of you. :P But yes, at the rate I'm going, it might just turn out that way eventually. XD As for a sudden deus-ex-machina rescue... well, you'll just have to wait and see, won't you. ;) Thank you for your praise. And thanks for the review!**  
><strong>__**XLR8ION:** Thanks. ;) Obviously, I don't mind Megatron and Knock Out as much, but it's a pity Starscream hasn't been present for the last few episodes of Transformers: Prime. But if you do like Soundwave, I suggest you go and watch Episode 26 on Youtube, if you haven't already. I won't say much more in case I spoil it, but I'm sure you won't be disappointed. ;) And Starscream should be coming up in the next Chapter... never fear. Thanks for the review!  
><strong>Silver Wolf of Dreams: <strong>Well, that depends. Do you want him to be? XD Thank you for the feedback. ^.^_

****My Beta was back! Yay! Except we agreed that we should see how I go without them for a little while. This Chapter's more light-hearted than the others, mainly just as a way to fill in space. A day in the life of the littlies at the Nursery. ^.^ Mind the fact that I have never made any implication that Flashfire was with them at the Nursery, as her name has not been mentioned. So yes. Just a little hint for you guys there. This chapter was more of just a filler, as I'm sure you can tell. ****

_**I'm Still Going: **_

**All People Who Added This Story to Story Alert:**_** missindependent93; Ty Floyd; Autobot NightFury, FillyKat, Rob Lockster, XLR8ION, vfnfvne, Silver Wolf of Dreams, CandlelightCrystal.**_

**All People Who Favourited This Story:**_** thundercracker76; Decepticon Chick; Autobot NightFury; DamonBamon, FillyKat, XLR8ION, CyberAngelAlexis, Jazzgirl4eva, benn55555, Ivanova.**_

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><p><em>Sonic merrily skipped down the hallway of their floor, tracking down the whereabouts of her twin and best friend through her bond to the former. A datapad was clutched tightly in her hands and being protectively held to her chestplate, as if frightened that somebody would snatch it away from her at any given second. Admittedly, the likelihood of this was very unlikely, she would be happy to know. Bullies in the Nursery were not exactly uncommon, but those that were on her floor tended to leave the mute femme alone, out of some kind of compassion within their sparks. Either that, or they were too scared to risk facing the combined fury of Snowfrost, Soundwave and Nightfall. For whatever reason, she got her destination with little delay.<em>

_When she did get there, she was greeted with what appeared to be a rather intense staring competition going on between Soundwave and Snowfrost. She hesitated for a brief moment, wondering whether it would be wise to interrupt or if she should just see how it plays out. Based on Soundwave's emotions through their bond, it didn't seem to be that serious, but it was a pity that a somewhat miffed-looking Snowfrost was not as easy to read._ _Unable to accurately judge what was going on, Sonic did the most obvious thing- she sat down, and waited._

_"Give it back to me!" Snowfrost ordered him, which was kinda comical considering how much older and bigger Soundwave was compared to her._

_"Give _what_ back to you?" parried a slightly-exasperated Soundwave._

_"My Energon Cookie!"_

_"I don't have your Energon Cookie!"_

_"That's 'cause you ATE it!"_

_Sonic couldn't help but grin, amused. It was just Snowfrost and Soundwave up to their usual antics: arguing about absolutely nothing and then not letting the incident go for the next few days. Sonic had found it, quite honestly, to be rather light-hearted; it was almost like their own, special form of playing. Nothing seemed to ever be taken seriously between them, and it always proved to be a very valid form of entertainment. The mute femme knew that, underneath all the banter, the two actually had a lot of respect for eachother, and could almost be considered good friends. It was nice to see Soundwave legitimately getting along with somebody else for once._

_"Well I can't give it back to you _now, _can I?"_

_"I don't care! You ate it! I want it back!"_

_There was a sigh from behind Sonic, and she glanced over her shoulder to see Nightfall shaking her head in exasperation. Her hands were on her hips and she was giving them a disapproving look, although she meant no harm by it. Instead, her ice blue optics flicked the grinning Sonic an amused look, and she said, "Do they ever give up?"_

_Sonic shrugged then shook her head, rolling her optics to mirror Nightfall's own exasperation. The darkly-coloured femme laughed musically, stepping around Sonic and wedging herself between the two bickering bots. They (or, rather, Snowfrost) didn't look particularly pleased over being interrupted in such a way, but then again, was there anyway to properly interrupt an argument between those two? Soundwave arched an optic ridge at the sudden closeness of the intruding femme's body, taking a casual step away from her, which probably would've been missed by anyone else... but not Sonic. She knew very well her twin brother was very much opposed and uncomfortable with being in close quarters with anyone who wasn't Sonic. And, she was beginning to notice, Snowfrost as well._

_"Alright you two, alright. Break it up before Moondust comes up here and sorts if out herself."_

_Soundwave almost impreciptably scowled at that, a quiet reminder to Sonic over just how much he despised the lady. Sonic never could truly understand why; the most she'd gotten out of him was that she asked too many questions, whatever that meant. Yet the two stepped away from eachother anyway, Snowfrost muttering something under her breath that suspiciously sounded as if she were going to get Soundwave back in the near future. Sonic could only hope she'd be around to see it._

_To get Snowfrost's attention, Sonic waved the datapad in her hand around in the air. The three Transformers glanced at Sonic, then the datapad, then at Sonic again curiously, as if trying to figure out what she was trying to get across to them this time. Soundwave was the first to click, then Nightfall, and then, finally, Snowfrost did as well. She practically lit up like the Fourth of July, her playful dispute with Soundwave momentarily forgotten as she bounded towards Sonic, bouncing up and down excitedly. Soundwave arched an optic ridge at her erratic behaviour whilst Nightfall merely gave an amused snort, the former walking towards Sonic with the latter closer behind. He held out his hand expectantly, waiting for Sonic to place it in his palm._

**_No. I want to read it, _**_Sonic told him, her stubborness most evident._

**_Don't be stupid, _**_Soundwave countered. **You're mute- there's no way Snowfrost will be able to find out what it says. She doesn't have a bond like we do.**_

_**That's why you can translate it from me to her.**_

_**Wouldn't it just be easier for me to read it? **Soundwave said, sounding a touch impatient with her._

_Based on the look she gave him, her answer was an obvious "no," and with a defeated sigh he sat himself down beside her. Snowfrost and Nightfall exchanged a glance, obviously unaware of what had just gone on between the siblings, but sat down anyway and eagerly awaited for one of them to start reading it to them. For Snowfrost, the letters were too few and far between from her brother, and these occasions were greatly treasured by her. She couldn't wait for the day when she could finally read properly, once the busy workers of the Nursery eventually got around to it._

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><p><em>It was a big change, going from the Hatchling Room to the Nursery, where all the bigger kids were.<em>

_Here, there was nobody watching you 24/7, and no workers to hide behind when you got too shy to talk to anyone else. Most of the adults were too busy doing their own things- like breaking up fights and making sure nobody was trying to swallow their toys again- to stop and pay any concern to a timid little youngling who needed somebody to shield them from the judgemental optics of their peers. For all intents and purposes, young Skyflame was just as excited at the thought of growing up as any sparkling would be. She was enthralled with the idea of getting a job and doing her part to ensure the continuity of the great Empire of Cybertron, but not so enthralled with facing the challenges of the Nursery. It could either be her greatest dream, or her scariest nightmare, depending on how the following events played out. _

_She clung to the few personal possessions she owned- a small family trinket, a note from her parents, and the only birthday gift she'd ever received in her life- cradling them to her chestplate as if trying to draw confidence from them. Sparklings who were deeply in recharge surrounded her in the quiet room, and though Skyflame knew she was expected to be recharging as well, she also knew that there was no way she would get even a minute of recharge in her worked up state. It would only be a matter of time before one of the sparklings woke up, cried, and then they'd realise that Skyflame was far from recharging like she should be. Then, knowing them, they'd also stand there until she did fall into recharge, because apparently it was "good for her."_

_They were probably right. But, as much as Skyflame didn't want to get into trouble, she also didn't want to go to sleep, either. Why waste her last few precious moments of peace recharging? It would go by too fast, and then before she'd know it she'd been in that dreaded Nursery, stumbling her way through words and making an idiot out of herself. Transformers always talked about others being shy, as if it were cute. It wasn't. There was nothing cute at all about the gut-wrenching nervousness she experienced when she stepped into a room, or how she stuttered and stumbled her way through words when talking in front of a large group. She hoped they wouldn't make her introduce herself._

_A chittering noise stirred her out of her thoughts, and she turned her head to see one of the sparklings gripping the side of it's cot and staring up at her with wide, innocent optics, clearly waiting for her to get it out and take it away from the dreary place. It wasn't hard to recognize the little one- Shockray, a young mech Skyflame had offered to help take care of on quite a few occasions, mainly just because the younger mech seemed to like her. He didn't seem very impressed with her now, though, when she shook her head 'no,' at him. The mech scowled at her, some meaningless yet undeniably angry chittering escaping his vocaliser, and stubbornly held out his arms as a request for her to pick him up._

_Skyflame grimaced, tempted to give in to his demands for a moment, but knowing for sure that she'd be caught. Meekly, she shook her head 'no' again, but it seemed to only infuriate Shockray further. Energon tears of frustration were pricking at his optics, and Skyflame, much to her horror, realised he was about to cry. _

_"No, no, no, no, no, no, no," she whispered desperately, not wanting one of the workers to come in and find her awake. Her three possessions were carefully laid down on her lap so that she wouldn't lose them, before reaching out a hand to try and comfort him. "Don't do that Shocky. Shhh. Go back to sleep. Please?"_

_If he saw the offered hand, he skillfully ignored it, or maybe he just knew that it still wasn't an offer to get him out of his cot. Either way, he began crying... or not so much crying as screaming his head off. Within moments every other sparkling had been startled awake, and their screams were now joining his. Workers were in there mere seconds later, trying to calm down all the sparklings, and didn't seem to notice the silent Skyflame who was sitting amongst the chaos. Which was honestly fine by her, seeing as she wasn't looking for attention anyway._

_It wasn't until all the sparklings and the few younglings had been put back to sleep that one of the workers finally seemed to notice the femme, who was sitting up in her own cot, holding on to her three personal items again as if her life depended on it. With an amused smile, the young femme worker approached the femme youngling, tilting her head to the side curiously when Skyflame gave her a frightened look._

_"What's wrong, Skyflame?" the femme asked kindly, bending down so that she could be at optic-level with her. _

_"I-I don't wanna recharge," Skyflame sniffed, still looking at the older femme as if she might start screaming bloody murder at any second. "Pl-Please don't m-make me."_

_"Why don't you want to recharge? Are you having bad dreams?" the worker inquired, her tone still gentle._

_"No..."_

_"Then what's wrong, sweetspark?" _

_Skyflame merely shrugged, as unhelpful as she was, and the other femme seemed to consider this for a second. Skyflame didn't want to go into it, to be honest. She was scared she might break down into tears halfway through, such was her unease with the entire situation, and she knew what the worker would say anyway. They just didn't understand what it was like to be shy. Maybe she should've just told them she was having bad dreams; maybe then they would've left her alone to go to sleep in her own time._

_"Are you excited to be moving to the Nursery?"_

_Well, hardly. But she didn't want to tell the supervisor that._

_"Something like that," she mumbled, not meeting her optics._

_"You've still got to go to sleep, though. You won't have any energy to play with the others if you don't!"_

Is that such a bad thing? _Skyflame wondered to herself._

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><p><strong>Imma stop it there. ;) You'll have to wait <em>another chapter<em> before you actually find out what happens to Skyflame! Mwahahahahaha. Eviiiiiiil! Ahem. Sorry. I've just watched the beyond epic 26th Episode of Transformers: Prime 3 times.**


	7. Predator

**Pairings:**** _  
>MegatronxOC, SoundwavexOC, StarscreamxOC, Knock OutxOC.<em>**

**_Foxbear:_**_ Thank you for both of your reviews. ^.^ I was touched by your comments.**  
>XLR8ION: <strong>Whether you'd already seen it or not, I hope you enjoyed it! I sure did. ;D And here is your promised chapter with Starscream. ^.^ Hopefully one will be coming up with Soundwave or his twin soon. Thanks for all your awesome feedback and another great review!  
><strong>Mai Pintian: <strong>Ack, lucky you! I've used up all the megabytes for my Internet, so Youtube takes forever to load now (and everything else as well). But never fear! Next month I can watch it as many times as I please... again. d: Thanks for your review! And I must agree with Knock Out and Soundwave... ;D_

**This... may be just my longest one yet! O.o Do you wanna know how many words this entire thing is? 5,957, including this little A/N here. Should keep my fellow Starscream-fans appeased for some time. ;) But... my apologies! I wrote all of this when I was half asleep. So do let me know is 'Screamer was a bit OOC. And if you haven't already, and if you're a fan of Megatron, Starscream, Soundwave or Shockwave from the Movieverse, I suggest you go read my story "Moonlight Dancing."**

**And in your reviews... remember to be truthful! I don't mind constructive criticism in the slightest. ;) It won't hurt my feelings, I swear. And please, if anyone finds a word that is "off" instead of "of" in this fanfic, tell me! I can't find it, and I need to fix it. XD**

**_I'm Still Going: _**

**All People Who Added This Story to Story Alert:_ missindependent93; Ty Floyd; Autobot NightFury, FillyKat, Rob Lockster, XLR8ION, vfnfvne, Silver Wolf of Dreams, CandlelightCrystal, Mai Pintian._**

**All People Who Favourited This Story:_ thundercracker76; Decepticon Chick; Autobot NightFury; DamonBamon, FillyKat, XLR8ION, CyberAngelAlexis, Jazzgirl4eva, benn55555, Ivanoma, Rose Jennison, Foxbear, Dunk234, Mai Pintian, Lunar Mist._**

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><p>Primus, her head hurt.<p>

As cliché as the phrase was, and as often as it was used, it was the Primus-honest truth. Skyflame's optics barely managed to shutter open, trying to take in her fuzzy and out-of-focus surroundings, blinking hard as she did so to clear her vision. The world literally felt like it was spinning, and it did little to help her thundering processor. Little messages kept popping up in front of her, attempting to warn her of the fact that she was low on Energon, but she swiftly shoved them aside. Stupid processor. Who cared about that? Maybe it should focus more on figuring out where in the Pit she was and what had happened to her, instead of trying to get her to refuel.

When everything finally seemed to settle down, the small femme identified herself to be in someone's quarters. Not her own, that was for sure. It was unfamiliar, large, and the things decorating the room (or at least the ones that she could see)... let's just say, they were not objects she'd think would make a "cosy" home. Of course, none of this actually helped her to find out what in the name of Cybertron was happening. Why was she on the floor, anyway? She could feel the shape of a berth against her, her lithe form leaning back against it, but it didn't seem like the kind the Autobots normally used. It seemed more like the one they'd specially given to Sonic (with some few subtle alterations) in their ship, the _Xanthium, _to make travelling more comfortable for her. After all, fliers always had to be mindful of their wings when recharging-

Sonic! That was right! The mute that came from a Decepticon family. And the _Xanthium... _with... with... Primus, who had they been with? Snowfrost? Yes, yes Skyflame remembered Snowfrost; Prime's little sister. And there was another, she was sure of it. The one that was the daughter of one of the Wreckers, as well as their old medic... Flame...flash? Flashflame? Something like that... ah yes, Flashfire. The one that none of them knew (besides from Snowfrost, although because of who her brother was it seemed like she knew everybody, anyway). So why had they been on a ship? Where had they gone? More importantly... was this part of their ship? Had she accidentally gotten inebriated, as unlikely as that was? She's never gotten over-energized before. It would explain the pounding processor and her lack of memory...

Wait... weren't they sent away? That sounded more or less correct... Primus knew why though. She simply remembered helping to drive the ship through space... and then they'd gotten caught in some planet's gravitational pull! She was remembering! And... then what? They hadn't had enough fuel or power to get out of the atmosphere, their engines had died, and... Skyflame didn't remember crashing. Maybe they'd gotten it back under control? Or... or they'd put Skyflame into stasis lock! Yes, yes, yes. When it was obvious they were going to crash, they'd all started putting themselves into stasis lock in the hopes of making it out alive. She couldn't remember why she'd gone first... something about Snowfrost wanting to protect the youngest of them. Just before they'd forced Skyflame to go into stasis, they'd been talking about sending out a distress signal in the hopes that someone would find them.

So... had the others made it out alive? Was this the rescue ship they'd been hoping for? Skyflame didn't know, and inwardly she cursed at how easily convinced she'd been to go into stasis first. How was she going to learn about the current state of her companions? They might have even managed to gain control of the ship, as unlikely as that seemed, and put her here to recover. Only Primus knew, but she was going to find out. Summoning up as much strength as she could, she brought her hands down to help push her off the ground, only for her right hand to be snagged to a stop halfway. Frowning, she looked up, optics widening in surprise to see that her right hand had literally been _cuffed_ to the berth.

If that wasn't a cause to panic, she didn't know what was. Dread flooded her senses, and even though she knew it was hopeless, she began pulling at it in the hope it would break. Unfortunately (and rather predictably), it held tight, so she resorted to the next viable option. She looked around for something to snap it open with.

That yielded no results, either.

Slumping back into her original position, defeated, Skyflame swept her optics over the room once again for any hint as to where she was. Obviously, she wasn't in a friendly place. Autobots did _not_ cuff other Autobots to berths, although she'd never heard of a Decepticon doing it either. Wasn't that what brigs were for? To keep the enemy restrained and safely cooped up? And this certainly didn't seem like any random room that they'd just chucked her into. She could see personal items in here, and small signs that there had been some kind of fairly recent activity within the place. Swallowing thickly, Skyflame did the next best thing she could think of.

She meekly tried to sink back into the berth, as if it would hide her from any who entered.

In front of her was a pair of doors; ones that she desperately hoped weren't the entrance ones. Maybe, with luck, they were the doors leading to a washroom? It wasn't like she could hide anywhere else... the cuffs were incredibly restricting, so much so that she couldn't even stuff herself beneath the berth in a desperate attempt to disguise herself. Where were Snowfrost and the others when you needed them? Surely they hadn't been killed, whether by these possible hostiles or the crash. Skyflame knew she wouldn't be able to cope without them at her side... even now she was having a difficult time not breaking down into tears.

_Please Primus, _she whimpered, turning to praying in a last resort, _Please don't let them be dead. I don't want to die. Please save us... or me... I'm too young! Please, Primus... I know I was influenced by the others, and my belief's never been that strong since I was younger... I'm sorry, alright? I just don't want to die... not now... please protect us..._

Her desperate plea for help was cut short by the sound of opening doors, and Skyflame's entire body went rigid in fear. It wasn't the doors in front of her, thank Primus, but they sounded further away... there must be another room before this once. It had come from behind her, though, so that also meant that she wouldn't be able to see whether they were friend or foe. Still, just more of a chance they wouldn't see her... (or at least until they decided to make a trip to their personal washracks, at least). Her spark began working double time as she caught the sound of approaching footsteps, sinking further into the berth behind her, ducking her body to keep it better hidden.

She bit her lip to prevent the scared gasp that threatened to leave her vocaliser as the doors opened up on the other side of the room, the side she hadn't managed to get a view of thanks to her inability to stand. The footsteps abruptly stopped, and she squeezed her optics shut, fearful the intruder had noticed her. Surely if they hadn't seen her, they could at least hear the pounding of her spark? It would be a miracle if they could not.

Eventually, they began moving again, the _click-clacking_ of their steps seeming exceptionally eerie in this atmosphere. Skyflame shrunk even further into the berth, keeping up a steady stream of _"Primus help me"_'s as she did so, spark spinning wildly in it's chamber. Why her? Each step brought them closer to her hiding place, and she turned her head sideways to flatten it against the side of the berth, optics still tightly squeezed shut. She hoped her internal fans wouldn't kick on any time soon: it would be a dead and embarrassing giveaway to her position. Not to mention she knew that, as soon as she began trembling, her armour would begin to clang against the berth. And they'd definitely have to be deaf not to hear that. Unfortunately, she didn't think she was very far away from either of these things happening.

After a moment or so, she realised that the footsteps had actually stopped again. It took another few seconds of nothing happening for her to gather up the courage to open her optics, carefully peeking one open first. When nothing out of the ordinary immediately met her attention, she opened up the other one as well, her head tentatively moving back to it's original position- facing forwards. She was just about to give the room a proper once-over when something sharp lightly touched the area beneath her chin and jaw, tilting her head upwards, the thing (or multiple things) placing feather-light touches as it trailed up the side of her faceplate, going along with the movement of her head. Skyflame's optics widened in horror at the feeling, her whole body freezing all over again, unknowingly submitting to the touches and turning her gaze upward.

Her spark stalled as her blue optics met a pair of startling red ones, set into a smooth faceplate and glittering with obvious amusement. A smirk was spread over that same faceplate, which now obviously belonged to a mech, and the things that had been touching her beforehand now drew back, revealing themselves to be sharp talons.

"**Well, hello, dear."**

Skyflame let out a startled gasp, attempting to jump to her feet and away from the mech. She didn't get awfully far before her own disorientation (perhaps she should've listened to those warnings about her lack of Energon afterall) and the short amount of space that the cuffs granted her sent her crashing back down to her knees, spark whirring so fast it would be a miracle if she didn't die of a spark-attack before this guy got to her.

The mech- who was clearly a Decepticon, she could see the insignia on his chestplate now- merely seemed to be more amused by this, rising from where he'd been kneeling on his own berth. Skyflame didn't bother to try and pull out of her restraints this time; she succumbed to her fear, ducking her head so that her gaze fell to the floor, looking as if she were trying to shrink in on herself and become invisible. This didn't seem to work on the mech, who was now approaching her with that familiar _click-clacking_ sound of his pedes. By the time he stood in front of her, her dreaded trembling had started up, and he'd be damned if he missed it. With an amused purr, he knelt down to her level, that _look_ still firmly fixed upon his faceplate. She instinctively flinched away as his talons cupped her chin, tugging her face upwards so that her optics would meet his.

**"Now, who would be kind enough to leave such a pretty little femme tied up in my quarters?"**

Oh Primus, she was going to die. She was going to die, and nobody was going to find her body, and her teammates were probably already dead. Nobody would know a Decepticon was the one to kill her. She'd just be another statistic, the one thing Snowfrost had always told Skyflame that she refused to be. Her cousin would never know how she died, where she died, or if, and he'd always be up and waiting for her to return to him with the rest of the femmes. Nobody with such a predatory glint in their optics, especially from a Decepticon, would encounter an Autobot prisoner and let them survive to tell the tale.

Shying away from the 'Con, shoulders slumped and body clearly screaming submission, Skyflame couldn't find her voice to reply. Instead, she continued to gaze up at him with frightened optics. The Decepticon flier flicked his wings, raising his free hand and causing the small femme to whimper, under the impression he was going to strike her for not answering. She didn't know! How could she? She'd been in stasis the whole time... unconscious... How could she know who brought her here? She'd barely even been able to recall her own name upon awakening! Not that the Decepticon would understand... they were hardly the type, now, were they?

Noticing the reaction, the mech tilted his head to the side curiously, smirk momentarily disappearing as he regarded her with that intrigued look.

**"Please..." **Skyflame barely managed to choke out, her voice coming out so small and quiet, it was surprising the mech heard her at all.

**"Please what?" **he inquired, his voice deceptively gentle, probably in an attempt to keep her calm and talking or to make a mockery out of her fear. As he did so, the hand that he'd raised came down to softly slide down her arm, the thumb on his other hand stroking her cheek.

**"Don't hurt me..." **she whimpered, the touches doing little to still her raging spark, optics squeezing shut as she tried to ignore the sensations.

The mech made a considering noise above her at this, hand pausing at her wrist where the cuff was, long digits carefully tracing along the hated device. The Energon within her went cold at the _ch-ing _sound that signalled the sharpening off his claw-like talons, and some part of her was trying to tell her to accept that she was going to die; that her request had not been heeded, by either Primus or the Decepticon. Heck, he was probably going to make her bleed to death just for the fun of it. Primus knew those talons were sharp enough to make it happen. She winced as she felt the hand being removed from her wrist, bracing herself for the blow... but it never came. Instead, she felt a slight tug on her wrist, and heard the sound of shattering metal. A thumb flicked over one of her optics, a clear sign for her to open them up. She did so, hesitantly, not wanting to know what the repercussions were for disobeying him, reluctant but also curious to see exactly what he'd done. Maybe they'd drugged her to force certain parts of her body to go numb, and she hadn't felt the injury?

But no, glancing over her body, there were no new signs of any kind of damage. In fact, the only damaged thing on her was the cuffs that had attached her to the berth. The chain was effectively sliced through, and bits and pieces of it littered the ground beside her. She blinked in disbelief, surprised that the mech had done such a thing, though it did not make her any more trusting towards him. Just more... relieved, that it had been the chain and not her wrist that had been cut in half. She didn't get much of a chance to think about it, though, because a small tug signalled for her to turn her gaze back to the mech.

**"You're a frightened little femme, aren't you?" **he grinned down at her, that predatory look having returned to his optics, as if he enjoyed the idea immensely. She tried to pull away as he leant in closer to her, much too close for comfort, but her head was held firmly in his grasp. The same digits that had just freed her from the cuffs intertwined with her own, much to her discomfort, and she was sure mentioned discomfort showed clearly on this face. It only proved, however, to increase his amusement. Leaning in closer to her, he growled in her audio receptor, **"More fun for me."**

The panic instilled into her spark from those words resulted in her trying to pull away from him again, with slightly more force, and this time he willingly released his hold on her. Unable to rely on her ability to stand and run without falling flat on her faceplate, Skyflame settled on quickly scrambling backwards and away from him, trying to put as much distance between herself and him as possible. The mech, looking rather casual in contrast to her frenzied motions, rose to his pedes and followed after her. The look upon his faceplate was now not the only thing that seemed predatory about him, Skyflame realised. He moved towards her much like a cat stalking a piece of prey that it knew was effectively trapped, which in all sense was very much true.

Her spark sank in it's chamber as her back hit the wall with a resounding 'thunk,' causing her to flinch and the mech to smirk victoriously. The distance between them was closed far too quickly for her liking, and before her slow-moving processor could have a chance to process it, a cold hand had already grabbed her shoulder and lifted her straight off the ground. Thrashing uselessly, her pede accidentally made contact with his abdomen, a small grunt (which was swiftly followed by an angry growl) showing that he'd felt it. One of his arms snapped upwards, pushing his body up against hers to pin her to the wall, her pedes well off the ground. His arm pushed against her throat, keeping her head in place, whilst the other rested threateningly at her side. Skyflame whimpered, very much scared for her life all over again.

**"Behave," **he snarled, optics glittering threateningly. **"And I won't _have_ to hurt you."**

By the way he was looking at her, he was clearly expecting an answer to this one, and Skyflame offered a timid nod. His grip on her lessened, allowing her pedes to touch the floor again, though he did not move from where he had been standing. Skyflame looked at her hands, blushing at the close proximity, but also wishing for him to step back at the same time. The mech was intimidating, if not scary, and the closer he was to her the less likely she was to form coherent speech. His mere presence made her feel uneasy, and she would appreciate a decent amount of space between herself and him.

Of course, as luck would have it, this was not what she got. Instead, she was vaguely aware of a hand running over the plating down her side, the other gently tracing her facial features in a cruel imitation of a lover's touch. However, most of her thoughts were concentrated on how close his lips were getting to her own. She swore to Primus he was closer than he was five seconds ago, and with his head tilted slightly to the side and optics gazing down at her with that that darkly mischievous glint within them... it didn't leave her with a good feeling in her spark. Deftly, she tried to lean back and away from him, but the cold metal wall behind her offered little comfort or solace. His thumb skilfully ran over her lips, leaving a tingling sensation in it's wake, before his own lips abruptly replaced where his thumb had just been.

As a femme on Cybertron, Skyflame had never been kissed all that often. She'd been considerably young when the war had started, and this age accompanied with her incurable shyness had never made a very good combination when it came to her, mechs, and experience. However, she was not to be mistaken as an unattractive femme: she'd had her occasional boyfriend, but... they'd just never really worked out for that long. Even as a youngling, she'd been warned by some of the supervisors that, due to her past and her own parents, having trouble with relationships was not all that uncommon. They had not, she'd found, been incorrect. So, it was no surprise (due to her lack of experience) that when the mech kissed her, it wasn't like any kiss she'd had before. The ones she'd experienced were gentle, passionate, often cautious, and, most importantly, _willing _on both parties.

With this mech, however, it could only be described as a quest for dominance. Sure, there was some kind of passion beneath the surface, but not the kind Skyflame had familiarised herself with. She'd almost lost track of his hands, somewhat aware of one cupping the side of her faceplate, keeping her head tilted slightly upwards and in place. But the location of the other one...? Ah. There it was: on her hip. His glossa ran across her bottom lip, followed by a surprising nibble, and it took her a moment to realise he was trying to get her to open her mouth. Unfortunately for the mech, as naturally submissive as she may be, this was not something Skyflame was going to so willingly grant him. If he was going to kill her, why hadn't he done so already? He should just hurry up and tear out her spark, instead of needlessly taunting her so.

A sharp squeeze to her hip was quick to rectify this, however; a dangerous reminder of her promise to behave. Reluctant, she parted her lips, fighting the urge to bite down on the glossa that snaked it's way inside the offered opening. Unwittingly, a soft keen left Skyflame as that (daresay) talented glossa refused to leave any part of her mouth unexplored, earning her a satisfied purr from the mech that the glossa belonged to. It flicked over her own, as if daring it to rise up and try to challenge him, Skyflame twitching in surprise at the motion but not taking the bait. After what seemed like an eternity, that devil of a glossa and lips were finally removed from her own, the mech letting out an amused chuckle as he did so. It was either that, or her obvious embarrassment, and Skyflame dearly hoped she didn't look a flushed or hot as she felt. Why had none of her boyfriends every kissed her like that before? As much as she resented the mech who had been doing it, a mech who was obviously just taking his time to have some fun until he finally deactivated her, there was no denying the skill he had... or how good it had felt.

Sucking in some much needed air, Skyflame could not help but note that he was barely even panting- and even then, it was only lightly. He gave her that wicked grin again (probably because he'd noticed also), mercifully pulling away from her, but not so mercifully wrapping a hand around her wrist and pulling her along with him. She found herself being dragged back to his berth, perching himself upon it, and placing his hands on her shoulder to push her down into a kneeling position on the ground before him. Succumbing to his superior strength, she sunk to her knees, watching him with cautious optics.

He leaned over the other side of his berth, the top half of his body disappearing for a moment, before returning with a cube of Energon in hand. Her fuel tanks gave a sudden growl at the sight of the substance, causing her to duck her head in embarrassment and he to let out another sinister chuckle. Rather than give her the Energon like she would've hoped, however, he raised the cube to his lips and took a drink. Her circuits burned with envy at the fine substance he was consuming in front of her, wishing he'd be generous enough to give it to the one who was actually starving out of the two of them. But what was she expecting? A Decepticon, she knew full well, would never show such mercy... or waste Energon on a prisoner they were just going to kill, anyway.

**"So," **he began in a conversational tone once he'd taken a long and taunting drink, swirling that coveted Energon around in it's cube, **"you know my identity, femme?" **

His gaze flicked to her, arching an optic ridge at her, watching her out of the corner of his optics, and clearly waiting for confirmation of some kind. Skyflame quickly nodded her head. How could she not know who he was? The appearance... and mannerisms... of the Decepticon Second-in-Command Starscream were unmistakable! She would've been a fool not to have recognized him. Affirming this, he flicked his optics back to his cube of Energon, taking another long drink. He then set it aside, a decent amount of Energon still within it, and leaned in closer to her with that wicked grin upon his faceplate. She swallowed thickly, fearing he might try to kiss her again, shrinking away slightly. Fortunately, that did not seem to be his intention on this occasion.

**"Then what is yours, little girl?"**

Skyflame frowned slightly, not impressed with the suggestion that she was little or young enough to be considered a mere girl. Still, she had promised to behave, if only to guarantee herself a swift end instead of a slow and torturous one... if Starscream happened to keep his word, as unlikely as she knew that to be.

**"Sk-Skyflame..."**

**"Skyflame..." **he echoed her, his voice a soft growl. **"And do you know what happens to pretty little Autobot femmes that I happen to find tied up in my room, little Skyflame?"**

There was a small pause, in which Skyflame averted her gaze, fiddling with her digits as she did so. Despite how she may appear, Skyflame was not thinking the question over: she already _knew_ what the correct answer was. Their motives for tying her up in Starscream's quarters were not entirely clear to her, but regardless the outcome was the same. They were going to kill. So, no, she wasn't trying to figure out what the correct reply was going to be. Instead, she was trying to summon up the courage to say the words she spoke next; words she, under normal circumstance, would not normally speak... least not aloud.

**"If you're going to kill me," **she said in a weak and fearful voice, her optics flicking away to look at a spot on the floor sadly, as if she'd come to accept her fate, **"then there's no use drawing it out."**

Her voice had slowly lost confidence and volume as she'd kept speaking, but she'd managed to get the whole thing out, which was the main thing... even if she was barely speaking above a whisper at the end. A long silence followed this, but Skyflame wasn't feeling confident enough to see what Starscream's reaction would be. Was he angry with her for being so blunt about it? She shrunk back slightly at the thought. She hoped not... facing the Seeker's wrath was not something on her to-do list. Better to keep her head down and remain submissive, rather than try and face up to him. A quick and fairly painless death... was that too much to ask for? Probably... this was _Starscream _she was talking about. No, she'd much rather wait until his response, or at least until she'd gained the courage to meet his optics again.

**"Kill you, hmmm?" **She glanced up at the entertained tone he used, finding his optics regarding her with a look of amusement. **"You make a tempting offer, little 'bot... but not one I'm willing to indulge."**

He... what did he mean he 'wasn't willing to indulge' it? Was that Decepticon talk for 'I'd much rather torture you' instead? Skyflame's confusion must've shown, because he gave an amused purr, sitting up straight again and beckoning her closer. She hesitated for a brief moment, but Starscream's warning growl was enough to encourage her to obey, shuffling forwards slightly whilst trying to ignore the fact that he'd picked up the Energon cube again. His free hand ghosted down the side of her face, brushing over her audio receptor, and she flinched at the contact. Above her, she could hear Starscream snickering at her response, before that same cube of Energon he'd recently been drinking out of appeared before her faceplate. She looked up at him in surprise, wondering if he was serious, and all she got in reply was a quirked optic ridge.

Taking this as a somewhat welcoming sign, she leaned forward to accept the Energon cube, somewhat against her better judgement. She was unable to help the blush that spread across her faceplate as one of Starscream's hands sat at the back of her head to keep her steady, and the other one tilting the Energon cube upwards for the fine liquid to run smoothly down her throat. It didn't matter- at least to her- that Starscream had recently drunk out of it. In the state she was in, any Energon was good Energon, and she'd just had his glossa shoved down her throat, anyway. What was the difference? Much to her relief, he didn't pull it away until every last drop was drained from it, leaving the femme unconsciously licking her lips. Dispersing the cube, Starscream grabbed hold of the smaller femme again, lifting her up directly onto his lap.

Skyflame felt her faceplate heating up even more at the intimate position she found herself in, with both of Starscream's arms wrapped firmly around her waist to keep her in place, leering down at her with that sinister grin that he seemed to own. She ducked her head, trying to hide her flushed features, awkwardly fiddling with her digits as she did so. Why was he doing this? Flashfire had always told her to stay away from the 'Cons because they would kill her... so why hadn't Starscream done so already? What was the point in supplying her with Energon, when he was just going to kill her?

**"What do you say?" **he taunted her, grin still on his faceplate and nuzzling her neck, as if purposely trying to make it difficult for her to answer.

**"Th-thank you...?"**

**"Thank you _Master_**," he corrected her, nipping at one of the cords in her neck, snickering at the surprised squeak it earned him.

**"Thank you, Master**," she whispered, almost too quietly for him to hear, optics closing as she did her best to ignore the sensations he was causing.

An amused purr answered her words, Starscream blessing her with a few more kisses and bites to her neck before mercifully pulling away. Cautiously, she cracked open an optic, the other one following once she affirmed he was a safe distance away again. Another kiss, this time on her lips, but not to the same degree as the one she'd been forced to endure last time. Starscream shifted, picking her up in his arms bridal style, before laying her back down on his berth and turning away to walk towards the doors she'd been facing earlier. Skyflame tensed, wondering if there were some kind of torture devices hidden away in there, and a whimper gave away her fear at the thought of that possibility. Starscream paused midstride, glancing over his shoulder at the femme who was watching him worriedly.

**"Stay there, femme. I'm merely going to the washracks... unless you'd like to join me**."

The last part was said with a sly look, and Skyflame swiftly shook her head 'no,' lest he get the wrong idea. Starscream seemed amused by this, before turning back to the doors, disappearing inside. Skyflame didn't relax until she heard the familiar sound of the shower turning on, letting out a breath she hadn't known she'd been holding. She cast a curious glance at the door Starscream had entered through, wondering whether or not he'd left it unlocked, but the idea was quickly dismissed. With no idea where she was, let alone where the others were or if they were alive, she didn't consider that the safest option. And Starscream hadn't hurt her... yet. If she happened to meet another Decepticon... well, she'd rather not imagine what might happen there.

So, she'd stay here; for now, at least. Until she found out what had happened to the others, what was going to happen to her, and when Starscream was finally going to kill her.


	8. Recounts

**Surprise! Thought I'd died, didn't you? ;)**

**L for Love: **_Indeed, but the femmes I've been working with lately don't really have that... fiery personality, I guess. The one in this chapter is supposed to, but I'll let you be the judge of that. :P Thanks for the advice! ^.^  
><em>**Kirake: **_Aww, thank you! I'm glad it could meet your expectations so far. Like you, I'm way more of a Starscream fan than anything else. :P  
><em>**Shadowwolf1618: **_I think most fanfics like to build up to the background, but the authors never really get round to it. Thank you for your kind words._ ^.^  
><strong>Transformer Diva: <strong>_One year later... :P I apologise about that._ XD  
><strong>16 SilverMoon 16: <strong>_:O I certainly hope that wait hasn't made you go *too* insane?_ ;)  
><strong>Nigel Flemming: <strong>_So sorry about the wait! Well, since you asked so nicely, here's the next chapter :P_ x  
><strong>NeonEyes: <strong>_You and me both! XD You're very much welcome. And thank you for your review. c:  
><em>**PainInUrAft-Nexy:** _Aww, why thank you! I apologise if this next chapter doesn't live up to expectations though.  
><em>**kukuioPunk: **_Thank you :3 Sorry about the long wait. DX  
><em>**StolenWings: **_Well hello there familiar face :P __Hopefully this is going to be continued, and won't be left for another year! Finding inspiration is hard sometimes. Thank you for your review!_

**For any Moonlight Dancing fans that happen to be hanging around, I was in the middle of writing the next chapter when... bam... shitty Internet Explorer makes its move and erases probably over a thousand words of progress. Yay me. Hopefully will find inspiration again for that soon.**

**So, I've been a bit out of the writing game for awhile, so I may be a little rusty. Sorry guys. Feel free to flame or criticise or anything else that'll make me get my act together. This is taking a different approach to the "back to the past" chapters I occasionally have.**

* * *

><p>Flashfire was pissed.<p>

More than pissed, even, if that was remotely possible. The whole scenario was completely ridiculous. Uncalled for. The Decepticons might as well kill her for all she cared, because she wasn't telling them slag. And neither would any of the other femmes! Apart from that Skyflame... Flashfire could see her cracking in an instant without the support of the other three femmes. It was too bad she'd still been in stasis when she'd been dragged away. She hadn't gotten a chance to order the young femme not to tell them anything, which she undoubtedly would, should the Decepticons choose to torture the spark out of her. The youngest of them never had had the strongest resolve.

Flashfire tugged at her restraints, muttering under her breath darkly as she tried to separate herself from the wall. The filthy Decepticon troops had chained her there, on display in some kind of... private room, which she hadn't determined the purpose of- yet. Surely it wouldn't remain a secret for too much longer. The Decepticons didn't have that kind of patience, and honestly; neither did she. She couldn't wait for them to come back in, if only so she could have _someone _to yell abuse at. They might even bring Snowfrost in to join her. Or Sonic. Actually... hopefully not Sonic. The femme's inability to speak didn't make her the most riveting conversationalist. She had no idea how anyone managed to be friends with someone like that in the first place, yet somehow both Snowfrost and Skyflame had managed it. Kudos to them.

Regardless, she was still bored. And trapped. And incapable of moving. There was absolutely nothing of interest in the room that they'd locked her in, asides from neatly organised shelves and a blank monitor screen. Perhaps this was a new Decepticon torture method. Leave Autobots alone in a room until they eventually cracked from boredom. She had to hand it to them- it was working.

Joors of frustrated huffing, cursing and uselesly struggling must have passed before someone finally entered the room, much to Flashfire's excitement.

**"About time," **she sneered, **"I was beginning to think you all had forgotten about me."**

It was a pity she hadn't checked to see who she was addressing before she'd spoken, in typical Flashfire fashion. Putting a filter between her processor and her glossa was not an art she'd perfected, and certainly wasn't one she'd ever wanted to. Until now, it seemed.

The lights flickered on as the Decepticon fully entered the room, and Flashfire felt her spark drop as the looming mass of a certain mech strode towards her. Her optics widened as she got a full look at him- and what he had in store for her- and her spark suddenly began to accelerate beyond reasonable speeds.

**"Wait, wait! Son of a glitch-! _No-!"_**

* * *

><p><em>"Flashfire! We need you in the Med. Bay NOW!"<em>

_The femme quickly sent back an affirmative, running towards her work place as fast as she could. Explosions rattled the small base that the squadron of Autobots had temporarily set up for the mission, sounding much closer than they had a few clicks ago. Not that those were her main concern as of the moment. Someone was obviously severley injured and required urgent medical attention. And as the Wrecker's medic, it was her primary job to attend to them, rather than burst into the heat of battle the first opportunity she got- guns blazing._

_The young femme burst through the Med. Bay doors, pushing through the two Wreckers who blocked her path and heading straight for the berth. She grabbed her medical tools on the way past, immediately preparing to set to work._

_"Alright, tell me what's happened."_

_"Wait, Flash', there's something you should know first-"_

_Too late. The femme froze in her tracks, nearly dropping her tools in the process. Her spark clenched tightly within its cavity as she stared down at her latest patient; half their faceplate blown off and body mangled almost beyond recognition. Their single remaining optic was offline, oblivious to the world, and precious energon was gushing out in multiple places. The paint on their armour had literally been melted off, leaving a messy glob of red and orange dripping off the Autobot's protoform. A mixture of rage, sorrow and a sudden sense of helplessness swirled inside Flashfire at the sight of her own mother. Fading before her. And fast._

_"Flashfire-"_

_"Shut up." She snapped, immediately lurching into action. "I need to concentrate."_

* * *

><p><em>"Hi," someone said to her, sounding unusually cheerful for an Autobot who had lasted this long into the war.<em>

_Flashfire glanced up from where she was staring at the ground, meeting the optics of a lightly coloured femme who looked even younger than she was. They were painted a strange colour of pink and blue, with optics shining almost as innocently as the day they were sparked. They were even smiling at her, could you believe it._

_She internally gave a contemptous snort, resisting the urge to roll her optics at the sheer naiveness the femme was radiating. What could she possibly want._

_"Hi." Flashfire replied flatly._

_"I'm Snowfrost," the femme introduced herself, seeming unpertubed by Flashfire's lack of enthusiasm._

_Oh. That explained a lot. Prime's little sister. She'd probably spent the entire war holed up nice and safe in Iacon- away from the hardships of battle. It couldn't be hard to remain optimistic when all of your friends were still alive and you hadn't been forced to watch loved ones drop before you like flies. She was soft. Pathetic. Wouldn't have lasted a day in the terrain that Flashfire had endured alongside the Wreckers. Just one of the many elite sodiers who didn't know the true meaning of war._

_"That's great," Flashfire replied, bitingly sarcastic._

* * *

><p><em>It was too late. She was gone.<em>

_Flashfire slumped in her chair, optics empty and devoid of emotion as she felt any remaining energy drain out of her. The desperation that had formerly been powering her had dispersed, much like the spark of the empty husk that now lay on her medical berth. She'd failed. She couldn't do it. She couldn't save her own mother's life. Energon lay in a pool around the deceased femme, sliding off the berth to drip onto the dirty floor below. Explosions still shook the building. She could even hear the sound of gunfire now, drawing steadily closer. It would be any moment now before the Decepticons reached and infiltrated their makeshift base. Yet she couldn't seem to make herself care._

_"Who did it." She demanded of the two mechs, her voice dangerously low._

_Silence. Neither of the mechs seemed willing to answer, and their pitying stares were burning right through her armour. Her emotions overboiled into an immediate explosion of fury, and she whipped around to throw one of her tools at them._

_"WHO DID IT?!" she screamed._

_"Flashfire, I know you're hurting, but you must calm down." _

_"JUST FRAGGING TELL ME WHO!"_

_"Dreadwing. It was Dreadwing. One of his bombs went off, and she was caught in the explosion."_

* * *

><p><em>"We need to get you guys away from here."<em>

_"What? Why? Perceptor, that doesn't make any sense!" Snowfrost objected, trying to push past the Autobot. "There's plenty of room on here for all of us. Tell the others to retreat! Come with us!"_

_"I'm sorry, Snowfrost. But Optimus's orders were clear."_

_"What do you mean "Optimus's orders"? I wasn't informed about any of this!"_

_Flashfire stood at Snowfost's side at the entrance to the ship, in complete agreement with the femme. Two other femmes she'd never met before- a flier and one who looked way too young to have been thrown out on the frontlines- stood someways behind them, further inside the vessel. The Autobot Perceptor was insistent though, attempting to push both Snowfrost and Flashfire back, whilst his companions continued firing on the invading Decepticons._

_They'd been told they'd come here to fight, to help ward off Decepticon attacks so that a shipment of Autobots would be able to escape Cybertron's atmosphere and temporarily find refuge somewhere else. What they discovered, however, was that the "shipment" was not as big of a group as they had anticipated. Flashfire felt a spark of annoyance over being expected to flee like cowards. _

_"Someone else can take my place," Flashfire said, stepping forwards. "Its not in my programming to run from a fight."_

_"I don't care if its in your programming or not, Optimus's orders are absolute!"_

_"You can't just expect us to leave you all behind!" Snowfrost objected, still trying to push past the mech and rejoin the fray._

_"I will be accompanying you," Perceptor informed her, taking a step forwards in order to force her a step back, "but we require reinforcements in order to hold off the Decepticon armada, otherwise none of us will be going anywhere!"_

_There was a sudden explosion that rocked the ground as Decepticons managed to break through the main wall, and began pouring into the launch area. Autobots and 'Cons alike locked arms, trying to keep them away from the ship. Flashfire shifted uneasily beside Snowfrost, fighting the urge to join in. Soft mechs like Optimus didn't know what they were talking about._

_"Look, please just hurry-"_

_"Perceptor!" Snowwfrost screamed in dismay._

_The mech's plea was cut short by a stray shot that punctured straight through his chest cavity, leaving a gaping hole that allowed them to see through his armour and out the other side. Flashfire caught him as he began to fall to the ground, systems still online, but barely so. Snowfrost merely stood there, staring at his fading shell in obvious horror, but the former medic of the Wreckers was already acting- dragging him inside the confines of the ship. Unbidden memories began to flood her processor._

_"Snowfrost we need to go!" Flashfire told her, attempting to snap her out of her daze._

_Snowfrost deftly nodded, but she didn't move for a few more clicks as reality was still catching up with her. Frustrated, Flashfire grabbed her shoulder and shoved her inside also, startling her into action. _

_"We need to go!" Flashfire repeated, only more forceful._

_The sister of Optimus Prime immediately sprang into action this time, running down the ramp to where the two unfamiliar femmes were. She began barking orders at them- telling the younger one to assist Flashfire in carrying Perceptor to the Med. Bay, and the flier to help her with taking off the ship. The ramp began closing behind Flashfire before she'd even properly gotten inside, Perceptor noticably slowing her down, though his weight was soon aleviated by the small grounder Snowfrost had ordered to accompany her. Flashfire gave her a nod of appreciation, and the two hurried towards the Med. Bay._

* * *

><p>A defeated vent of air escape Flashfire as Soundwave disconnected his tentacles from her hard drive, ceasing the overwhelming flood of memories and information, and she now hung limply in her restraints.<p>

She felt drained and exhausted as old feelings and grievances returned to plague her, spurred by the memories the Decepticon had been forcing her to relive. They mixed in with her present state, causing a strange concoction of fear, desperation, helplessness, anger and horror, that left her more confused than she'd care to admit. The mech didn't move from where he stood. His faceless visor reflected back her own lost faceplate, exposing to her just how hopeless and vulnerable she appeared to him. Another slice of anger peirced her spark, as she felt as if he were almost mocking her.

_Basterd, _she thought to herself, before falling back into stasis.


End file.
